Deathwatch Tyranid Invasion

While I haven't put an army on a table in a long time, I am still a huge fan of Warhammer 40,000's lore.  I want to pretend I'm crushing my enemies with a Thunder Hammer I just don't have the time or space to do it lately.  So I'm really happy to see Rodeo's new mobile game Deathwatch - Tyranid Invasion is out on mobile devices.  This is the same team that put together Warhammer Quest.  I put a ton of time into Warhammer Quest.  So I'm very excited for Deathwatch since it takes the same type of turn based gameplay and moves it into the 40K universe.

In Warhammer 40K the Deathwatch is a group made up of all the other Space Marine chapters. When a marine joins they paint their armor black to match their new brothers.  This is a great group to use for games because it lets people pick characters from their favorite Space Marine Chapters and doesn't just focus on one like the underrated Ultramarine game did

The game will contain 38 different Space Marines with over 150 different weapons and wargear. Once you put your team together you'll take them through 40 different missions.  Of course the game will support in app purchases.  The ones in Warhammer Quest were for things like new areas, new enemy types, new heroes, and new weapons.  I'd expect Deathwatch to have a very similar setup.

Warhammer Quest: Free This Week

If you’re on an IOS device than you’ll want to check out the free App of the Week; it’s the Games Workshop branded Dungeon Crawler, Warhammer Quest.  I purchased this game almost a year ago and I’ve spent a lot of time putting down orks and goblins with bows and axes.  The core game gives you four characters to go adventuring with a human Marauder, wood elf Waywatcher, dwarf Ironbreaker, and a human grey Wizard.  Each character will gain new abilities as they level and pick up all sorts of different loot. 

 

I think it’s pretty important to point out that you don’t have to be familiar with Warhammer lore to enjoy the game.  Group of adventurers pick up quests, kill bad things, and get new equipment is a pretty standard set up.  If you do know your way around Warhammer you’ll find the fluff around the game even more enjoyable.

There is also a lot of additional content available for purchase.  If you aren’t happy with your first four warriors you can pick up a high elf Archmage, human Brightmage, dwarf Trollslayer, high elf Shadow Warrior, ogre Irongut, human Warrior Priest, or a human Witch Hunter.  The new character run 3 dollars each.  There are two region packs that add new enemy types and open up new regions on the map.  Each of these are 5 dollars and add skaven and savage orks to the game.

There are a series of Legendary Weapons.  They each cost a dollar if you really want them.  Finally there are Dungeon Packs.  Each of these costs 3 dollars.  One pack adds Necromancers and skeletons, the second adds vampires and zombies, and the third adds vampire themed tilesets into the dungeon.  So you could easily drop more than 20 dollars on add-ons, but you don’t need to.  The core game is a great turn-based dungeon crawler.   I really recommended it to people before it was free, so if you haven’t downloaded it yet I highly recommend you do so.

Top 10 Giant Robots

Last week Michael May and Siskoid ran a top 10 list of his their top 10 giant monsters.   One  of the rules when creating this top ten is that robots aren’t monsters and would require their own top 10 list.  Just like last week I had to get in on the action, so today we’re going to be talking giant robots.  We are also including mecha into this list, figuring that giant machines controlled by pilots are going to be close enough to robots that it will still count.  Make sure you check out Michael’s AdventureBlog today for a list of other blogs participating in today’s robot countdown. 

10. Voltron

I was going to use the Vehicle version of Voltron just to enrage a friend of mine, but the majority of people who recognize the name Voltron immediately think of the lion version when they hear that name.  There is a good reason for that to, the Lion Force robot is extremely cool looking.  So you’re asking if Voltron is iconic and has such a great design why is he only number 10 on the list?  It’s because watching a Voltron cartoon is excruciatingly boring.  All the archetypes are there, but nothing interesting is ever done with it.  That makes it even worse, it has such potental to be amazing and it's just bland.  I’m including all the re-launches in that statement too. 

9. Emperor Titans (Warhammer 40K)

No setting in existence does over the top better than the Warhammer 40K universe.  The armies of man have giant war machines called Titans, the largest of these are the Emperor Titans.  Standing 166 feet tall the Emperor Titan towers over everything else on the battle field.  As you’d expect the Titan is loaded down with weapons with equally over the top names like Hellstorm Cannons, Apocalypse Missle Launcher’s, and Vulcan Mega Bolters.  I almost forgot to mention that it carries a cathedral dedicated to the God-Emperor on its shoulders.  It's a massive warmachine and a walking church. 

8. Liberty Prime (Fallout 3)

If you remember the Journey of Thall Faceshooter you know I had a great time playing through Fallout 3.  There are some issues with the setting of the game when compared to the rest of the series; some of the lore just doesn’t fit as well.  Liberty Prime though is awesome.  Originally built to liberate Anchorage, Alaska from the Red Chinese this robot was dug up by the Brotherhood of Steel.  Liberty Prime eventually is set upon the Enclave and causes massive destruction by shooting dual energy beams from his head and throwing mini-nukes like footballs.  All the time he’s wrecking face he says things like “Communism is the very definition of failure,” and “Democracy is non-negotiable.”

7. Volfogg (GaoGaiGar)

One of the Super-AI robots in the GGG is the definition of cool.  His vehicle form is a police Ferrari and his robot form is pretty much a ninja.  He carries tow Silver Moon throwing blades that can be combined to form a giant throwing star known as the Silver Cross.  He is also equipped to create holograms, create smoke screens, and to use his Mirror Coating to turn invisible.  When he needs a power upgrade he can join with a non intelligent motorcycle and helicopter to form Big Volfogg.  He looks significantly less ninja-like when it Big Volfogg mode though.

6.  Lockdown (Transformers)

Transformers Animated introduced one of the coolest Transformers of all time.  It’s heavily implied that this faction-less bounty hunter was once an Autobot.  Lockdown has a habit of collecting trophies from his prey, usually it’s a weapon or upgrade that he can use for himself.  This is how he came to own Ratchet’s EMP generator.  Lockdown’s alt form is a nasty spiked racecar with an exposed engine block and a cow-catcher on the bumper.  Oh and in the cartoon he is voiced my Lance Henricksen. 

5. Megas XLR

With a theme song that told the world that “Chicks dig giant robots,” it was obvious that Megas XLR was going to be different than most cartoons.  Produced by Titmouse, Inc, Megas XLR only lasted one season (just like their amazing cartoon Motorcity).  In the future the Earth is losing a war with an alien race called the Glorft. The humans steal a prototype giant robot and modify for our use.  Megas and its pilot Kiva are going to be sent into the past hoping they can stop the invasion.  All sorts of craziness happens.  Megas is damaged and sent to the wrong time.  The damaged Megas is found in present day by Coop , who repairs the robot and replaces the damaged head with a muscle car.  He calls the robot XLR.  Kiva finds Megas but is unable to pilot it anymore because of Coop’s modifications.  Megas XLR makes fun of every giant robot trope in existence and then moves on to anime tropes in general.  The series was smart and funny as all hell. 

4. Iron Giant

Iron Giant is the best Superman movie ever made.  If you haven’t seen it you should stop reading right now and go see it.  Nothing else really needs to be said about it.

3. Veritech (Macross/Robotech)

The VF-1 Valkyrie is a classic.  It goes from from jet mode, to guardian more, to battloid.  There are numerous different versions just in the first series alone.  The design has been copied across all different sorts of media.  Roy Focker’s Veritech looks the best of course.  The black and yellow scheme stand out on the white body and the skull squadron symbol just makes the whole thing look cool.  The Robotech cartoon had a huge impact on me when I was a kid and this design will be with me forever.

2. Springer (Transformers)

I’ve talked numerous times about Springer on That F’ing Monkey.  My all time favorite Transformer.  In the cartoon he was a sarcastic asshole who got shit done.  In the comics he’s the lead of the Wreckers.  Springer is named because he’s legs are so powerful that he is able to leap across battlefields.  Considering he also turns into a helicopter you wouldn’t think that would be an issue.  He goes from sports car, to helicopter, to bad ass.  This triple changer first debuted in the Transformers movie and I’ve been obsessed with him ever since.

1. GaoGaiGar

GaoGaiGar could be placed on the top of this list for his theme song alone.  For those unfamiliar with this awesomeness let me explain what it takes to transform into GaoGaiGar.  A cyborg leaps into a giant robot lion's mouth.  This causes the lion to transform into the robot GaiGar.  That robot is then joined by a drill tank, a bullet train, and a stealth fighter.  All four of these machines then take on the form of GaoGairGar.  You want a giant robot anime that takes it over the top?  This is it.  GaoGaiGar protects the world from the Zonder threat and while I had just mentioned his basic transformation as the series went on he was outfitted with more equipment to battle the aliens.  The most famous is probably his Goldion Hammer, a gigantic hammer that contains an artificial gravity well.  Another robot had to be introduced so it could turn into an arm attachment strong enough to even hold the hammer.  Most of the foes GaoGaiGar faces end up be completely disintegrated.  There is a reason GaoGaiGar is the King of the Braves. 

Relic

This past weekend I spent quite a bit of time playing Fantasy Flight Game’s board game Relic.  Relic takes place in the Warhammer 40,000 universe and sends players exploring the galaxy.  The game is the 40K version of the fantasy game Talisman.  Relic takes Talisman’s rules and improves upon them.  The game retails for 60 dollars, but the game is full of detailed playing pieces, counters, and about 12 trees worth of cards.  Seriously, they’re smaller than playing cards but there are a ton of them.
 

At the start of the game each player picks one of the game’s characters.  Each character has different starting stats and special abilities.  The game is Empire-centric so choices run from things like a Space Marine Captain to a Ratling Sniper.  A final objective is set in the middle of the board that determines what it takes to actually win the game.  In addition to the final objective each player is dealt a mission card, giving them a smaller objective to achieve.
 

 

At that point the players start moving around the board.  Each card drawn gives them a chance to fight an enemy, gain equipment, or even gain followers.  Kill six points worth of bad guys and you gain a level.  Leveling increases your stats and could have other rewards.  Finish three missions and gain a Relic.  Relics are very powerful equipment cards.  It can be a very, very long game.  Because it is so reliant on cards, it can also be a very random game.   That doesn’t mean it isn’t fun though.  Laughing at the misfortune of your opponents might be the best part of the game.  If you like your board games a little more complicated I recommend you check it out, I know it is something that I’ll be adding to my collection soon.

Hands On: Space Hulk

This weekend Brandon and I were in Memphis for Games Workshop’s convention, Games Day.  I’ve been very excited about Full Control’s version of Space Hulk.  Space Hulk was a board game originally released in 1989.  It borrows heavily from the paranoia and endless hallways in Alien.  You control a squad of Blood Angel Terminators as they investigate ancient ships or asteroids.  Hidden in all of those corridors are Genestealers, four armed xenos that would love to devour the Blood Angels.  It’s a very difficult game but it’s also very fun.

 

Full Control had demo stations set up and I jumped into the first seat I saw available.  There were a number of small demos to choose from, but as soon as the person running the demo said the second mission had the flame thrower I knew I had to try it.  The flamer is very, very satisfying.  From what I saw, the game is also pretty clunky.  During the game I was playing I had to break down a malfunctioning door.  I walked my marine up to the door and hit the button to swing my power fist.  I looked at the screen in confusion.  Did I hit the door?  Did I miss?  After two or three hits the door did break open, but until then I wasn’t sure my actions affecting anything. 

 

It is entirely possible that there is some form of dialogue box that was hidden during the demos.  I only got a few minutes with the game instead of going through all the tutorials so it is very likely I am missing something.  Cyanide’s version of Blood Bowl hid all of the good stuff too, but it is possible for players to display all the rolls behind the game’s animations.  I’m hoping Space Hulk will do the same.  The game is currently up for pre-order on Steam for 29.99 and the mobile version will be following at a later date.  Expect multiplayer and the ability to create your own levels.  I didn’t love it as much as I wanted to, but the game is still a pre-order for me.

Games Day 2013

Dear Internet,

By the time you read this I’ll already be gone.  I’m taking Brandon with me. 

Actually the two of us are going to hang out at Games Day in Memphis.  Hopefully there will be plenty of cool things that we can report back on, but if it is anything like last year we’ll probably just wander around and get really drunk.

 

If you’re going to the convention and see us stumbling through the halls make sure to say hello.  I won’t have the Stoutheart Brewers with me.  I thought about it, but I don’t remember seeing any Blood Bowl taking place last year.

Warhammer Quest

I play a lot of games on my iPhone.  As much as I love my Xbox and my computer, I don’t always have the time it takes to sit down and play the games I want to on them.  It’s easy to grab a quick game on my lunch break or something similar.  Yesterday was the release of Rodeo Games Warhammer Quest.  I’m going to say this right now; it is the best game I’ve played on my phone.  

Warhammer Quest is based on an out of print board game of the same name that was produced between 1995 and1998.  It’s a dungeon crawl game.  Adventures go into randomly generated areas, defeat monsters, and collect loot.  When they return to town they sell their treasure, level up their skills, and pick up the next quest.  The board game is beloved and there are petitions to get it back in print.  The video game translates all of this perfectly.

 The purchase of the game gives you a Wood Elf Waywatcher, a Dwarf Ironbreaker, a human Grey Wizard, and a human Marauder to start with.  That’s a great starting party but there are three additional characters that can be purchased an Elven Wizard, a Dwarf Slayer, and a human War Priest.  I think 3 bucks for each character might be a little steep, but I’ve already bought the Slayer and will probably end up buying the others.  There is also a second region of the game to purchase that unlocks new cities and Skaven as enemies. 

The actual gameplay is turn based, which I prefer when playing on the phone.  It’s a challenging game, especially at the lower levels.  The inventory screen is a thing of genius.  You play the game with the game horizontal but when you flip the screen to the vertical position it switches to your inventory.  I don’t know why I like it so much, but it’s a nice touch.  If you like dungeon crawls I really can’t recommend this game enough.  At this time I believe it is only available for iOS devices.

Stoutheart Brewers Update 3

Today is another quick Blood Bowl update.  We are two weeks into the Spring Training league at my local Games Workshop and I’ve managed to get in three games.  Currently my record is 2-1 but I feel pretty good about that loss.  It was against a Chaos Dwarf team, they only scored once, and I didn’t take any casualties. 

I’m still working on all the miniatures for the team.  Last Friday I finished my Coach, apothecary, and a second runner.  It was good timing on the runner, because I had just won enough money to start fielding him.  You don’t actually need figures for your coach and support staff, but I think it is much more fun to have them on the sidelines.

Another miniature I finished is my beer pony.  There is no in game reason for me to have this, it just makes me happy.  The horse and cart came from an old Warhammer Fantasy box set.  I had to cut the mining cart off of it and then I added a third party stack of kegs. 

You’d think I’d be done, but I still have a long line of Dwarfs that need paint.  My turn and reroll trackers need to be finished.  I also have two score keepers, a cannon, a referee, and a bunch of musicians waiting for me on my painting table.

Stoutheart Brewers Update 2

I’ve been hard at work on by Bloodbowl team.  The good news is that the first 11 players are actually finished.  I’ve still got a ton of work to do, but at least my starting lineup is all painted.  That’s a good thing since the league I’m going to be playing in starts this Sunday.

 The numbers are 2mm plastic numbers from a model railroad company.  The number is repeated on the back of the base so it is easy to see what player it is regardless of your facing. 

 The bases are resin bases from Secret Weapon miniatures.  I’ve talked about Secret Weapon before; I use their lava bases on my Salamanders.  I also use their urban rubble bases on my Necormunda enforcers.  I like the company so much that when I plan a new army/team/gang I immediately look to Secret Weapon to find a suitable base.

 I still have a lot of painting to do.  I’m currently working on my coach, an extra runner, an apothecary, a turn counter, a reroll counter, and my beer wagon.  That group has already been primed and I’ve started to get some base coats down.  If I had a couple of hours I could probably get them finished too.

My pitch is still on hold.  Enough of it is finished that you can play a game on it, in fact I should be using it this Sunday.  Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get the insulation foam boards that I need.  I had some truck issues and then it rained for a week straight.  Now that is all out of the way I should be able to get the supplies I need to start creating the dugouts and the mountain scoreboard.

Games Day 2013 Ticket

Brandon and I are going to Games Day again this year.  You may remember last year when I posted the unboxing of my 2012 Games Day ticket.  That was odd just because of the giant box used to send a matted print.  This time around I’m posting the ticketing package because it is awesome.

This plain white envelop came in a packing sleeve.  I didn’t really know what to expect inside it.  To be honest I didn’t give it much thought.

Inside was a ticket holder and yet another envelope.  Suddenly it was turning into the postal equivalent of a nesting doll.  Open a package to open an envelope; which opens to reveal a smaller envelope.   But wait, what is that horribly blurry smudge in my picture?  Why am I so bad at photography?

Oh, it’s just a wax seal of the Dark Angels symbol.  Yeah, that’s pretty awesome.  I know I’ll eventually end up throwing it away, but I didn’t want to break the seal just yet.  Remembering at a long ago convention I actually bought a Dragon Age letter opener I ran to my desk and grabbed my Grey Warden sword. 

Finally done with envelopes we have an embossed Imperial Aquila.  Not much to say here, but again it is just a gorgeous presentation.  Saying any more would turn it into that scene in American Psycho.

Finally inside the letter is my ticket and a thank you for purchasing it.  I’ve been to conventions all across the United States and I’ve never received anything even close to this.  Bravo Games Workshop.  You’ve certainly raised the bar this time.

Stoutheart Brewers Progress Update

I’m still hard at work at getting my Dwarf Blood Bowl team and their stadium together.  Our Spring Training league starts the last Sunday of April so I still have some time but I know that there is no way I will be completely finished with all of my projects before the first game is played.  Who am I kidding; I probably won’t be completely finished until after Spring Training is over.

I’ve split my players and support staff into three groups.  The first group consists of the 11 players I’ll be fielding at the start of the league.  My next group will be things like my coach, turn counters, the runner I hope to purchase after a game or two, and my apothecary.  The third group is filled with the other ridiculous things I’ve purchased to support my team.  Picture above is my apothecary; I made him with bits out of the Dwarf Cannon/Organ gun set.  It took be forever to find a Dwarf doctor, so I’m really happy with him. 

The stadium is another project that just keeps on growing.  I decided to use Klinkarhun, the Dwarven Runes for all the writing on my field.  I didn’t have much time last weekend but I still managed to finish most of the detail painting on the board.  I still needed to letter the end zones and get them fully painted.  I also need to finish painting the gravel pits.  I have sketched out my plans for my dugouts, but I haven’t bought the supplies I need to make them yet.  The best thing about the stadium right now is I could play a game on it if I wanted to.

You’ll notice the empty space below one of the end zones.  At this point I’ve decided to name my stadium “The Mountain”.  I have planned to put a mountain in that area.   So at this point I’m just making a ton more work for myself.  The good thing is that I’ll be using the same material that I’ll be using on my dug outs.  Still I need to get the supplies for all of that, so it’ll probably be a week or two before I have any more progress to show on that.

Dwarf Blood Bowl Pitch

Near the beginning of the month I posted some early pictures of my Dwarf Bloodbowl team, the Stoutheart Brewers.  I’m still working on getting the team fully painted but we aren’t focusing on the team today.  The last sentence in that update was that I’m also working on a Blood Bowl pitch for the team.  When you purchase a Blood Bowl boxed set it does come with game board.  But the Cyanide video game version has shown me that you don’t need to settle for a grass field.  Dwarfs prefer the feel of stone under their feet.  What you’re going to see below is still a work in progress.

When playing Blood Bowl each coach has a side board that contains their Reserves, Injured, and Dead Players.  Early in my design process I decided I wanted to have these dugouts located beneath the playing field.  For some reason it felt more Dwarf that way.  It was also a more complex build, which I thought was a great idea for someone who hasn’t done any wood work since my high school shop class.  Despite having to re-teach myself some basics of carpentry my frame came together pretty quickly.

The next step was to use foam project board.  Basically a piece of foam sandwiched between two sheets of poster board.  Using a rag I wet the paper down one side of the board and stripped the paper from it.  I did this for two full boards because I wasn’t really sure how much I was going to need.  That’s kind of a theme of this project, me getting more supplies than I really need.  Once the foam was cleaned I began measuring out the game board.  Using a T-Square, a pencil, and a sharp X-Acto knife I spent a lot of time creating the grid for the actual playing field.  After that I did turn trackers, re-roll trackers, a scatter template, and random stone work to fill the rest of the board. 

I purposely left some places bare.  In those places I brushed on a layer of watered down Elmer’s glue and then sprinkled cat litter on them.  Once that was they got two more layers of glue to make sure the gravel pits stayed in place.  The important thing to remember about working with foam like this is that if you use spray paint, it will eat your foam and all your hard work will disappear.  To avoid destroying my pitch I base coated it with two layers of black acrylic paint.  The picture above was taken after I had brushed on the first layer.  You can also see the glue hasn’t dried in my gravel pits. 

Once the layers of black paint had dried it was time to get some actual color on the field.  I was playing around with a few different paint options when I handed a can of Games Workshop Rough Coat and told to try that.  At first I thought that there was something wrong with the way it came out of the can, it seemed to hit the board more “wet” than the spray paint I was used to using.  It gave me a great base coat for my grey that varied a lot in how dark it was.  Once that was dry I hit it with the black patches. 

The Spring Training League I plan on using the pitch for won’t start until the end of April, so I have some time but there is still a lot more to do.  I plan on throwing a lighter grey on the surface.  After that I’ll add the white lines that designate the different zones on the playing field.  I’ll also add white text for the scatter template, re-roll counters, and turn trackers.  The big empty area near one endzone will eventually be where I build a scoreboard.  The scoreboard won’t be built in time for the Spring Training League though.  It is very likely that the dugouts won’t be finished in time for the League either.  Considering Blood Bowl is my favorite Games Workshop game every, these things will eventually be finished.  Stay tuned to That F’ing Monkey for future progress updates.

Stoutheart Brewers

For the past few weeks I’ve been going over the numerous Games Workshop projects I’ve been working on.  Thanks in various stages of completion, sniper scouts, and my Necromunda Enforcers.  At this point all of those projects are on hold.  In fact I’m going to be putting them away so they aren’t even out on my hobby station so I can’t be distracted from my current task.  I have one project now and I won’t be working on anything else until I get some serious progress done on it.  You see Necromunda is fun, I love Warhammer 40k, but in my mind the best Games Workshop game ever made is Blood Bowl.

I’ve talked about it before, but Blood Bowl is a football/rugby hybrid game that uses the races of Warhammer Fantasy.  It is over the top, tongue-in-cheek violence with some sports rules thrown in.  Currently the video game version is getting some good exposure because a number of well known video game vloggers are in a tournament against each other.  I’m working on the table top version though and I’m rolling out the Dwarfs.

Not only am I putting together the team; I’m also working on a team coach who isn’t pictured in today’s update and this amazing beer cart.  I know there is a tank in the background, that isn’t part of Blood Bowl.  To be perfectly honest the cart doesn’t really serve an in game purpose either; I just think it will look really cool.  Eventually I want to add some musicians and an apothecary, but I already have a lot to start painting before I get any crazier. 

Oh, I might also be working on a Dwarf themed Blood Bowl pitch….  More on that later.

Necromunda Enforcers

Today I’m sharing more of my work in progress hobby madness.  Just to recap what happened; last year I was very disciplined.  At the most I would have two different projects going at once and for the most part I would be completely finished with one project before I started the next.  I am all over the place this year.  In the last two weeks I’ve shown you an unpainted tank, a half built tank, and a five man scout squad that needed to be based, primed, and painted.  You would think that would be enough. 

My local Games Workshop store has declared Sundays to be Specialist Game Sunday.  You see Games Workshop is famous for Warhammer and Warhammer 40K but they have put out other miniature games.  These games don’t get updated anymore, but are still a lot of fun to play and you can still buy the figures from the Games Workshop website.  The game pictured above is Necromunda.  Necromunda is a game full of gangs trying to gain land in power in the underhive.

Considering The Warriors is probably my favorite movie ever made you would think I’d have made a gang consisting of guys in vests or guys in baseball uniforms.  Instead I went with the police.  The picture above is missing one figure, but you can see I have most of them assembled, based, and primed.  These are old metal figures.  Most of today’s stuff is either plastic or resin.  I don’t miss working with metal one bit.  On figures that are all one piece it isn’t a problem.  These Enforcers were an utter pain to put together.  On the shotgun and bolt gun guys their arms end at the wrist.  The gun itself has their hands molded onto them.  Lining up both hands with the wrist stumps was a painful process.  Thankfully the building process is finishing and they just needed painted now.

You would think that would be enough.  There may be one more Games Workshop project in progress.

Warhammer 40K Scouts

A week ago I mentioned how I had somehow gone from being a disciplined model builder to juggling multiple hobby projects at once.  I shared pictures of my two work in progress tanks but I also alluded to two other projects I had going.  Today we’re going to look at one of those projects, my Space Marine Scout Snipers.

The picture above is the stock photo for the set.  You get five scouts that can all be set up with sniper rifles or you can give one a missile launcher.  You can see they have cloaks and night vision goggles to look very sniper-y.  I wanted to use a group of scouts in my army, but I really disliked the heads.  I’m not a fan of Space Marines who don’t wear their helmets anyway, but these guys didn’t even come with helmets.  I knew if I wanted to use them I’d have to do something different.

Thankfully the Dark Angel veteran sets come with these great hooded helmets.  Now in Warhammer 40K fiction Scouts haven’t earned the right to use power armor yet.  I figure that since I haven’t changed the body of the figures that it still almost fits the established fiction.  They biggest challenge is those heads did not fit the torsos.  Each of those figures took about an hour to carve enough out of the back and shoulders for the hooded head to fit. The hoods and the cloaks end up looking like they are all one piece, which is what I was hoping for.

I’m way happy with the way they came out.  Of course I still need to paint them, but just getting them all assembled is a move in the right direction.  You’d think that would be enough hobby projects, but I have one more group of Games Workshop models I’m working on.  We’ll probably take a look at them next week.

Tank Shock

This week I’ve been spending a bit of time at my hobby table.  Last year I showed incredible discipline with my progress.  Most times I only had one new product at a time.  I would assemble, paint, and finish that project before moving onto the next one.  Even when I had multiple boxes, I would keep that second box out of sight to not get overwhelmed by how much work was ahead of me.  I’ve lost that focus, my hobby table currently holds four different projects in various stages of completion.

The one I’m most excited about is my Predator Infernus.  The Infernus is a tank from Forgeworld a specialized company that makes rulebooks and models for Warhammer.  Because you have to order them from England you’re going to pay a little bit more, but some of the sculpting is amazing.  Their vehicle kits usually use one of the Games Workshop vehicles as a base and then come with resin pieces to change the look.  In the picture above the light grey is all resin, the dark grey is plastic.

I’ve still got quite a few pieces to clean and assemble.  The bits are all on paper towel in this picture because I had to wash them.  I know that sounds strange, but to release the resin from the molds they are hit with a substance that makes paint not stick correctly.  A quick bath in some soapy water is enough to fix the issue.  Because the tank can be built with different armaments there are actually more pieces than I’ll be using.

I’d feel pretty good with my progress if I didn’t already have a fully assembled tank that I needed to finish painting.  This is my Whirlwind.  It uses the same plastic base that the Infernus did.  The only resin on it is the dragon doors and the missile turret.  Both the doors and turret are also from Forgeworld.  Because the main body of the tank can also be used as a troop transport, the inside of this one is already painted.  Now I just have to paint the outside.  These are the two vehicle projects I’m in the middle of, next week we’ll probably take a look at the troop related projects I have going.

Nerd Resolutions

It's my first post of the new year, therefor I am going to let you in on this years Nerd Resolutions. What's that I hear you say? Most resolutions don't even last a month? That sounds about right, however Nerd Resolutions are things that are supposed to be fun so one is more likely to stick to it. "How are we to know that they are supposed to be fun? You just made the term Nerd Resolutions up!" Damn you are quite vocal this post, invisible reader. Settle down.

Rambling conversations with my head voices aside I present thee with what I am going to try to do this year.

1) Get my Eldar army fully painted. 
      If you don't know I play Eldar in Warhammer 40k. I am also very lazy when it comes to painting. So I want to have my entire army painted by the end of the year.

2) Catch up with The Walking Dead.
     This includes both the comic (I have only read the first two trades) and the show (first few eps of season one). This almost feels like nerd blasphemy at this point, so I should get with the program.

3) Finish this damn stack of Video Games.
      I have a few games that I started and just have not picked up again. Included in this stack are - Space Marine, Crackdown, Assassin's Creed, and Mass Effect.

4) Try to find an I.P.A. that I can at least tolerate.
     I don't like Indian Pale Ales. Lots of people do. So I want to find one that does not make me want to throw across the room after the first sip. This may be impossible. 

I will update these from time to time so I stay honest and motivated. So you have that to look forward to for the rest of the year. "We don't care!". Why are you so negitive?
So what are some of your Nerd Resolutions for the year? Let us know in the comments, our Facebook page, or the Contact Us button and we will do our best to keep ya motivated.

Also we are looking to drop a Podcast on you ya ever two weeks or so. If you have a topic you want to hear us go on about let us know. Plus the booze Podcast needs rules for the drinking game we will be playing. Put on your thinking cap and shoot us some of those as well.

Tome of Fire

Both Brandon and I have talked a lot about Warhammer 40k. It isn’t just the game itself, or the models, we’re pretty taken with the setting itself. Luckily Games Workshop’s publishing arm is a machine that produces new material at a pretty astonishing rate. I’ve been pretty adamant in my love for the Salamander Space Marine chapter, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that I thrilled to pick up Nick Kyme’s newest Salamander novel, Tome of Fire.

Tome of Fire is interesting because it really is an anthology that supports the Tome of Fire trilogy. The trilogy completed last November when Nocturne was released. During the time Nick was writing the trilogy he was also writing other short stories about the Salamanders. They were for fliers, other anthologies, and Black Library events. Tome of Fire collects all of those short stories and arranges them chronologically. The index at the front of the book points out exactly where the three novels fit into the reading order.

I’ve already read a handful of the stories published in Tome of Fire. The longest of the stories was a free pdf download on Black Library’s website for years. I’m excited to get to the stories that I haven’t read yet. I may just have to use the anthology as a guide and reread the entire series.

Warhammer Weekend

Hey everyone. It’s going to be a short update today. I got the invite to spend this weekend playing plastic army men and I jumped at the chance.

I also wanted to share some pictures I took recently. I picked up the Strenguard Weapon upgrade pack for an upcoming addition to my army. The upgrade kit is fairly new and I didn’t see many pictures of it before ordering it. One of the big concerns was they pictures of the kit on Games Workshop’s own website didn’t do the pieces any favors.

The kit is resin, or Finecast as GW calls it. Finecast doesn’t have a great reputation among a lot of gamers. This is actually the first Finecast piece that I’ve picked up for my own use. I can happily say that all the weapons are defect free. One of the lightning claws doesn’t look straight, but that will be an easy fix should I ever try to fix it.

Anyway, I should be commanding my Salamander army by the time you read this. So wish me luck, I think I’m going to be the most inexperienced person playing this weekend.