Live streaming and testing a new setup

UPDATE: I stopped streaming at 2215 EST this evening so check back with me later.



Hello again!  I'm testing out a new setup for the web cam in preparation for doing some tutorials.  I'll be working on my Imperial Guard Chimera again for Warhammer 40K.  Fun times!

Aquans all done!

Something Fishy...


     Aw... cheesy joke... so sorry.  Now that I've finished painting up my Aquans, I'll need to fix them to their bases.  I HAD magnetized all the ships in both the Aquan and Dindrenzi fleets that I have, but after my first test game and all the silly rotating these ships did on their flight posts, I'm convinced that there's no other simple solution.  Once these are all properly glued in, I'm going to place an order for the Hotz Gaming Mat that they just put up recently with a nice star field on it and get back to trying out more Firestorm.

     I'll need to get some proper Firestorm Armada terrain (asteroids obviously) at some point.  I think I'll follow what the fine folks over at miniwargaming.com did where they took some foam, and sprayed it good with some Krylon black, which normally you'd never want to do because it melts the foam, but it makes for some interesting looking space rocks!  I'll think about it because it'll represent a leap for me because I've never actually done terrain... EVER!  Don't have my own table so there has never been much point.

The State of the Table Top Nation


     Though I've been absent lo these many months, I haven't been completely out of the loop.  True, my near compulsive browsing of blogs and news sites for the tiniest scrap of gaming news has tapered off considerably, I continued to hit the highlights.  I think I can say that our hobby is nearing a turning point.  For many veterans whose shadows have darkened the gaming rooms since the 40K race that shall not be named still waddled their short stout bodies across the battlefields, I'm sure they've detected what I have: a division within our ranks.

     I don't mean this to imply sedition, or treason.  Not at all!  We weird bunch of table top gamers are certainly passionate, and thus it is notable when our collective eye wanders.  Privateer Press has been doing better, and I think we can see now that as a company it has truly come of age.  There are yet more young challengers to the Games Workshop kingdom.  Some are pioneers, looking to set themselves apart, like Corvus Belli and Spartan Games.  Some are more like the Hyena, looking for a more corporal opportunity, hoping to pick the bones clean, like Mantic Games, offering very "compatible" models for an enticing price.  Let us not forget the likes of Flames of War, or Malifaux, or even the return of Battletech with their recent anniversary box set.

     Where does this lead us?  More to the point, where does this lead Games Workshop?  I think they have a very difficult challenge ahead of them.  I was discussing this with a friend, and I expressed my thoughts on it like this:  GW is the Titanic before the iceberg.  The first question is "Do they see it?" The second question is "Do they see a threat?" And the final, most important question is "If they want to react, will it matter as they're big and slow to change, thus it might be too little, too late."

     I've expressed my dissatisfaction with GW prices over this last year, and these changes had a very real impact on my personal hobby as I now own two Firestorm Armada starters, and an Infinity starter, with plans to expand into War Machine in the near future (thanks to the news of the new Colossals and their own free army builder software).  I've declared recently that I'll likely never start another 40K army unless I sell off one of my existing ones first.  I simply can't afford it.

     I think we can all see that 6th edition 40K carries an enormous weight on it's shoulders.  It has to please an audience that is growing tired of the off-stage (and box office, if I'm using my metaphor properly) shenanigans.  Can it satisfy the casual fluffy gamer AND the more hard core tourney scene?  Is there going to be a meeting of the minds when it comes to army balance?  Will the games have more meat on them or will the rules simply be another new way to get us to buy more miniatures?

     Competition is normally quite good for the consumer, but it will likely be a painful one for the niche market of table top gamers.  I know that I struggle with an internal dialogue when I begin to think about playing other non-40K games, and investing more time and money into them.  Ultimately I know that I might be getting away from the herd and the running is thinner out there.  There will be far fewer pick-up games and places to meet.  Networking with local players will be a serious challenge as I don't have a normal gaming group.  I'm certain that I can't be alone in this feeling, and it's going to be a struggle, but I'm willing to risk it for the sake of my wallet.

     What do you think?  Is 2012 going to be a watershed moment for our hobby?  What are your predictions for the future?  Have you been thinking about trying other game systems?  Tell me what you think!

 

White Hot Rage!

     I'm ready for my close-up! So I've been experimenting. A friend of mine has asked me to paint his army, there's money involved, and I don't want to let him down. The request he has made, frankly, sounded like a bit of a challenge, but one I pretty much asked for.

     White marines. Ugh! What have I gotten myself into. So far I have "finished" two test models. Both were learning experiences. I tried the following recipes:

--First Attempt--
Based Codex Grey
Badab Black wash
Went back over with Codex Grey, leaving the darker areas
Went over the whole model with Fortress Grey
Went over most of the model with Skull White

--Second Attempt-- (Les Bursley from Awesomepaintjob.com's White Scars Tutorial)
Based Fortress Grey
Badab Black wash
Went back over with Fortress Grey
Edge Highlighted with Skull White

     The first attempt was less than satisfactory. The white simply became chalky, even with the very thin coats. Though the overall color was about what I was looking for, it just wasn't good. I didn't bother taking a photo of it.

     The second attempt was much better looking, but obviously not white. Just wasn't white at all. It was light grey, sure, but no mistaking that for white at all. Now having watched the aforementioned tutorial over, I was more confused than ever. His "Fortress Grey" was SUPER light. Looked like white, or very nearly enough white. He only highlights a few areas in the video with Skull White. The end results he got were very different from mine.

     I haven't given up yet. I have a few more tricks up my sleeve. I'm going to try basing with Space Wolves Grey, then covering that with a 50/50 mix of Space Wolves Grey and Skull White. I'll then edge highlight with Skull White. I think this will not only give a close-to-white look, but it'll have a slight blueish tint that will like a little "icy."

     Nevertheless it had been a while since I had put a paint brush on a marine model, and it felt really good to complete one again. I've only been doing this hobby for a little less than two years, but it seemed a little like coming home. I was happy to complete these tests, but I'm really looking forward to some more trials and possibly some better results. I'll keep ya posted. In the mean time, here are some more shots of my test model from attempt number two:

Mr. Melta Man

     Hello everyone! Finished my Melta Gunner for my command squad. I liked the scarred head. Had to use it. I had to work on my stubble technique a little. One large change was a little bit of stippling of a slightly darker shade to create some slight variation across his head. Came out pretty good.

     With this guy done, I have only one more model to complete my command squad. Mr. Vox caster will be next. I've got a good lead on an airbrush compressor and that will be critical to some ideas I have for my vehicles and some various other projects.

Local GW store closing...


     So I had mentioned some issues that I had with my local GW. Imagine my surprise when stopping by and discovering via a little flyer on their counter that they are closing up. I seems that the mall is jacking up their rent, so they really had no choice. I heard that the battle bunker that was closed a few months back is being reopened within the next year. Of course that has been and on-again-off-again rumor and a now don't know what to believe.

     The MOST interesting result of the announced closing of this store has been my interaction with the employees that ARE NOT being relocated. They are now awesome. They don't ask the silly canned questions and feigned interest held only long enough to make a product recommendation. I stopped by the store today and it was a great experience. More like hanging out, than trying to avoid the silly sales pitches. Turns out, when you turn the GW-ness down just a bit, the atmosphere of the store changes for the better.

Forge World stuffs...


     I've decided that I'm going to start a Red Scorpion army. I got some of my first bits from Forge World. They made a small mistake and sent only one upgrade kit when I had ordered two. Thankfully, the stellar customer support has sent out the rest of the order via express delivery. On a slightly related note, a friend of mine received his copies of the Badab War books, and they seem incredible. I haven't seen them, but he has read through some of the awesome rules and scenarios in those monsters. I'm a little sad that many 40K fans might never enjoy these. I'll endeavor to bring some of these to a table soon.

New Camera...

     My wife purchased a new point-and-shoot camera. A Canon Powershot, to be precise. I tried it out on the photos you see here. Interestingly enough, I think I'll stick with my old Kodak. The color balance is a little weird. I'm sure that I could have negated that with some trixy editing, but as my computer is still broken, I don't have the needed tools to do so. The other interesting problem  with using this camera is the face detection. It detects the "face" on my model and forces the camera from macro mode to portrait mode. This bit of software is annoying as the focal logic is very different in these two modes. So there IS such a thing as a camera that is TOO smart. I did take a funny pic with the camera, and with that I'll leave you to my most recent shots of my Melta Gunner:

 "Bring It Down" - This order allows all weapons in the unit to be fired as if twin linked against the a target vehicle or monstrous creature.

 

     That's it for now. Hope you enjoyed, and as always feel free to leave question, and comments.

Orders sir?

     So I lied, just a little. I decided to throw another update up before my computer was fixed. The reason for this? I've completed my commander! I really... REALLY like the way he turned out. I was a little hesitant as it's another HQ model. You always want to put your best foot forward when it comes to HQ models. This one, even though he's just a plastic model out of a command squad box, was no exception. I spent a lot of time on a few areas, and I think they paid off. These areas were the face, the blending on the armor, and the free hand on the right shoulder.

     The freehand was really simple, but it turned out exactly how I pictured it in my mind prior to putting the brush to the model. That gives me a pretty good feeling. Up until now, my freehand has been limited, to say the least. I've been inspired to try it a bit more, as I have a few ideas for some fun stuff I'd like to throw on some vehicles. I needed something on this model to show his rank. I've placed skulls on my two veteran sergeants, so his shoulder had to be a bit fancier. Fun stuff!

     Of course, given this long void of blog posts, I had mentioned that I wasn't idle on the painting table. As requested, here are some pics of my second Veterans squad that I completed  a while back. Enjoy:

 Yes, that's a Space Marine scout head... Big whoop, wanna fight about it?

Some bones from a Vampire Counts skeleton box given to me by a friend. 

 Some scratches and nicks on the armor that I dig. I'm starting to dig the weathered look

Wounds for my meltas? Look! I green-stuffed some bricks, the red ones. Sculpting skillz.

     That's it for now. The army is really looking good as it builds up on my table. I've got the rest of the command squad to paint, then I'm in vehicle territory. For those, I'll need to go buy a compressor for my airbrush.

     Been putting a lot of thought as to what Space Marine army I'm going to do as my next army (much further down the line) and I'm pretty set on Red Scorpions. Should be fun. I wish those damn Imperial Armour books for the Badab war were not so freaking expensive.

     Thoughts and comments are always appreciated! I'm still contemplating the name for my Guard army. The best I've come up with so far is the Hive Rats. Since they are an urban, more elite force style army, I thought that might work. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I couldn't find an established Guard regiment that had a similar color scheme, so if you know of one, do tell. Thanks for tuning in.

Get to the Koptas!

     I've wrapped up my Deff Koptas, and this brings my 1850 point Orks army to a close. I have plenty of other Ork units that I will work on in the future, but for the time being, it's time to move to my Blood Angels SM variant army. This will allow me to play my current SM army with a little twist. I'm very excited about some of the modeling I'll be able to do with the few models I'm adding to take advantage of the BA codex.

     I also reached an interesting milestone with the completion of these Koptas. I've now painted an entire Assault on Black Reach starter set! I think that's pretty awesome. I purchased that kit just about a year ago, and from it I've developed two 1850 point armies. I've got to say that it has been a great first year in a new and interesting hobby. I'm really looking forward to continuing my armies and playing a ton of games. Here are a few detail shots of my Koptas and my AoBR set:

Dats wut we's need for a proppa WAAAGH!

     I've completed the assembly of my Deff Dread. This new model is supremely awesome. The options are plentiful, the bits are bountiful, and the end result is properly menacing. The model is freaking massive to boot. I took a pic of him along side a standard Space Marine dread for size comparison. The pic above shows him with the four close-combat arms, but I spent quite a bit of time magnetizing the other weapon options. I'm thinking I'll most likely run him with a Kustom Mega Blasta and a Skorcha. That will allow him to sit back on an objective (being that he'll be a troop choice) and just pester the opponent. Should anything take the time to shoot at him, that means they're not shooting at my Trukk or my Nob Bikerz. At only 95 points, he'll be a nifty little trick to throw at my opponent. Basically, I don't plan to play him aggressive unless I absolutely have to. In addition, I'm hoping to have a mek in the back-field hanging around with the Lootas. This gives me the potential to effect repairs. Wouldn't that be Orky thing to do? Regardless I've got an awesome model to assemble, paint, and show off. If it happens to pan out in the game, that's just sugar on top as far as I'm concerned.

     I had another great game on Saturday. I managed to squeak out a victory against  my buddy's Eldar army. We played yet another Battle Missions game. That book is paying off big time. Thus far I've had nothing but interesting games out of it. I had a good time, got to play some of my newer Orks, and punched a few Space Elves in the face. Nothing wrong with that. Watched a few interesting games. Had to leave early though as my wife was getting out of work earlier than she normally does on a Saturday, so I wanted to spend some time with her.

     Here are some detail shots of the mighty Deff Dread:

Incoming Ork Bikes and Armies of the Future

     With the Kommandos done, I was fired up. Like I said in my previous post, the painting process for those Kommandos was just painful for various reasons. Once completed, I was refueled. I plunged into one of my Ork Battleforce boxes and immediately started gluing my last three Nob bikers together (and my fingers). I have combined a few bits to build a Painboy on a bike, and I even scavenged a Space Marine flamer to make my shoota/skorcha Nob. I'm chomping at the bit to paint them up and that will lead me towards my Warboss on Bike! HURRAY!

     I've been pondering my future army ideas. I'm constantly thrilled with how deep this hobby goes. My imagination and creativity gets a goodly amount of exercise just dreaming up new armies. Right now I'm thinking of doing a group of Sternguard as Deathwatch. I've got my theoretical Imperial Guard army tempting my wallet as well. My more immediate thoughts are of a Salamanders variant of my Space Marines, so once the Orks are done, I'll have to refocus on those guys.

     I just purchased some foam trays for my Orks from Battlefoam. I can't fully explain how awesome my Battlefoam case has been for me. My current case has been getting some really good use. I've got this thing loaded up to near full capacity. I just noticed that they have a new bag coming out and it looks slick. I'm wondering which bag I'll eventually upgrade to: The new 720 or the massive 1520. I guess this depends on what my third army ends up being.

     Last bit of news here. I've found a new 40K related podcast that I've been enjoying. It's called 11th Company. The podcast is very focused and nearly completely 40K tactics focused. 40K Radio has been sucking and I'm tired of pointless babbling about beer drinking and shitty puns. I've enjoyed World's End Radio, but they aren't strictly 40K focused. Check out 11th Company if you get a chance.

Shhhh... I've got a "sekret."

     FINALLY I've completed my Ork Kommandos with Boss Snikrot. I must say that painting these guys has been the most painful squad I've ever done. I'm not sure why, exactly. The fact that every model was different in sometimes extreme ways maybe didn't help. Maybe it was because they were all metal (with the exception of the two with burnas). All I do know is that it seemed to take forever. They do look pretty good together, although I'm not happy with how some of them fit (or rather DON'T fit) on their bases. These models have their feet WAY too far apart for a normal 25mm base. You basically have to balance them on their heels and it doesn't look good. The burnas are worse but since they are plastic, their weight doesn't cause all the problems that the metal models have.

     I've been tweaking my 1500 and 1850 point lists for my Orks. Things seem to be falling into place. My thoughts keep slipping back to my Space Marines and all the additions I'm planning on making to that army. I really just need to find some focus in order to expedite this Ork army so I can get it on the table. I have eight Lootas, three Nob bikerz, and the War Boss on the Bike left to go to reach my 1500 point list. To hit my 1850 mark I'll need to throw in a Deff Dread (those new models are insanely cool), and some Deff Koptas in the very least.

     By the way: Am I the only one out here that just wants the Blood Angels Codex to be released already, purely for the fact that it means we can get to a non-Space Marine based codex a little faster? I doubt it.

     Here are some more pics of my Kommandos:

Beep Beep!

     Trukk is DONE! I'm very happy with the trukk. The only thing I wasn't thrilled with was the gunner. He doesn't want to fit in the gunner's mount so well. I managed to get him glued in such that it wasn't a problem, but other than that, I think everything came together quite well. I've got some extra little bitz I'm going to be attaching to the trukk later, and I'll post pics when I do.

     I've ordered some more fun stuff. I have five squigs headed my way as well as Vulcan Hestan, which represents my baby steps back into the SM arena. My goal is to have a Salamanders variant of my core SM army ready within the next six months. I do have plenty more Orks to do, but I've purchased the last of my Orks for my 1500 point list. The only things I'm desperate to add to my Orks are a Deff dread and a weird boy. Those are more just for S&Gs so I'm in no great hurry.

     I stopped by my CLGS and ran into a new face. He's another Navy guy who is getting back into 40K. Excellent news! I was happy to lend him some advice about our CLGS. He informed me that he was completing an Eldar army at the moment. Our CLGS has a terrible Eldar player that has effectively ruined the army in the eyes of the regulars because he's an absolute power gamer and doesn't exactly play the rules so well. Saying "Eldar" around the store usually elicits some rather negative responses. One of my friends from work who's also getting back into 40K is playing Eldar as well and found this to be the reception. I told him that it was up to him to change everyones' mind. God speed Sean... God speed.

     Here are some more shots of my trukk:

Feel No Pain

     It has been a bit since I've shown some progress on my Orks. It's time to do that. Here is my Painboy, which will be running with my 10 man Nob squad deployed in a Trukk. I've got a few touches that I need to put on this guy, nothing huge though. I've played a few games with him in the squad and he does quite well. My only difficulty is deciding if I should take 'Eavy Armor on my Nobz. Technically this would make the Painboy more useful, or I should say that I would be using his Feel No Pain saves more frequently. Hmmm just not sure. I had fun making the tarnished brass look on his syringe and tank on his back. Here's some more pics:

  

    I've started working on the Trukk for my Big Mek, Nobz, and Painboy to ride in. I've decided that I'm going to try a technique I saw at Iron Dog Studios on the Tator Titan. I've started with the Tin Bitz layer, then I'll be doing a nice Boltgun layer. After that, I'll be picking out what I want to be black and orange and I'll go from there with more detailed painting. I think this will give a nice worn look that won't take too much time to complete. I've done the first pass tonight and here are the results:

     I'll have some options for my project following the Trukk. I've got my Kommandos all cleaned up and ready for painting, or I could go ahead and assemble my Lootas. I've gained some respect for the Lootas potent abilities, so I'm half tempted to jump ahead to them. Hmmmm but Snikrot is just an AWESOME model. Tough decisions!

Catching up with the Orks

Well it has been a while, and I have something to show for it. I took a little vacation back home to Dallas for New Years. I put a lot of effort into cramming as much 40K as I possibly could into the week I had there. I managed to play quite a few games with my two local 40K buddies while I was there. In an effort to make sure that I had two armies to play, I struggled to complete as many Orks as possible to bring me up to roughly 1000 points. Sadly I had to stretch a bit to get to that value, and in the end they certainly weren't the most competitive 1000 point list you've ever seen, but they were fun and finally getting some time behind the wheel of the army was what was most important.

I did have to fudge a little on my pledge of never playing a unit that wasn't painted. I had three Nob Bikerz that I had only about 15% complete on their paint job. It was still worth it and I think we all had a good time playing the various games. We did not, however, play at one of the GW stores this time around. I think it's a lot of fun though and next time I hope to do so. We paid them a visit a couple of times and I got the chance to see some of the new Tyranid models up close. The Trygon and the Raveners to be specific. Great models, and they'll be a fantastic looking addition to any 40K table out there.

Before I left for the vacation, I managed to finish up a 10 man squad of foot-slogging Nobz. I used both a box of Nobz and the five Nobz from Assault on Black Reach. At first I was disappointed with the box of Nobz, as I had originally thought I was going to be able to use the torsos for the warbikez. Sadly, I discovered that they are torso and legs together in essentially one piece. Instead of chopping them up, I scrounged some Nob torsos from my battleforce for the warbikez and decided to just use the Nobz box as intended. I'm now VERY glad that I did. These models turned out fantastic. They are some of my favorite Orks to date. Each model came out unique and I had a terrific time choosing the bits to customize each one. The AoBR models, though obviously not customizable, still turned out pretty good. When I ran these combined with the boxed ones, it was nearly impossible to tell them apart, all crowded together on the table. Of course, they tend to be the first to die since they're all just choppa-slugga Nobz, but that's alright because the wound allocation for the last five (the ones from the box) is pretty cheesy. Basically they're just a meat-shield, allowing my to hopefully deliver three Big Choppas and two Power Klaws with deadly force. By the way: Big Choppas are some vehicle killing bastards.

The Nob Bikerz were pretty good, but with only three of them, they tended to be an early target, and pay a pretty heavy price. When they managed to survive, they tended to be VERY good. I can't wait to finish the other three, giving them that same awesome allocation ability and bringing along a Painboy. Ooooooh it's going to be nasty.

I've essentially purchased everything I need to finish up the army to about 1500 points. I'll be finishing up my Boyz squad, building a Kommandos squad with Snikrot, bringing in a Painboy for my foot-slogging Nobz, throwing in a trukk for them to ride in, and putting together a nasty group of Lootas. The only model I've yet to buy is the Forgeworld Ork Warboss on the Bike. I shiver every time I think of that wicked model. I'll probably be purchasing that in the next couple of months. Until then, I still have the warboss on foot from the AoBR set.

Here are some more shots of my newest additions: