A Tomb World Awakens

Good evening children of the Plague Father by now I am sure you have all seen the stir about the Necrons being put on preorder at the end of this month and I for one could not be happier about this ( providing they don't get crippled in 6th that is ).

Now instead of recycling the pictures you can see everywhere at the minute I decided instead to start awakening the sleeping warriors of the C'tan I have collected ( yes that's right I have another old xeno race up my sleeve ).

I bought the Necrons after having my first game of 40k with a few friends and loved the idea of an unstoppable wave of robots killing indiscriminately with their gauss weapons stripping their victims to nothingness atom by atom and feeding the survivors to their cruel Gods. So after one whole game I went out and bought two battle forces, two Monoliths, a couple of lords and a Tomb Spyder.

Over the course of a long weekend I built and painted my Necrons ready for the next game and the look of shock on their faces when I put my painted army on the table to face off against the sea of grey miniatures is what set in my mind that I wanted to always use painted models ( I am the first to admit while I still strive for this I have fallen short more often than not ).

These are not the best painted models as these were the first models I ever painted. I remember the Necrons being quite forgiving to a new painter and letting me feel I was getting a force I could be happy with without selling my soul to the Devil for painting talent. These days they are desperate to be rebased with the crystals never fitting on any board I have ever used.

First up are five of my fifty six basic warriors. I like the basic troops and hopefully they will be given a decent buff so I can make the most of these happy little bringers of death but with new Immortals and Flayed ones supposedly having a way to become troops I am not too sure how many I will need.

Scarabs have always proven to be a good unit to tie up small squads and with their 2+ cover save when turbo boosting they are difficult to remove without templates. The proposed buffs they are rumoured to be getting may mean I have to expand their ranks though currently they are only in the warrior boxes so unless sneak in more boxes like Ripper Swarms or get their own there could be a problem I'll have to address at the time.

 

The Tomb Spyder was my first attempt at magnetising a model and turned out better than I expected. Through trial and error taught me a lot about using magnets and the importance of using the right sized magnet for the job not just the ones you have to hand.

My Wraith Lord which I ran as a Destroyer Lord with War Scythe along side two squads of three Wraiths was my first conversion using a standard Wraith and Destroyer Lord kits. It was less finesse and more force as I used a combination of clippers and bone saw to "lovingly" join the two kits and Lord Styx was born ( originally Lord Sticky as he stuck to my fingers more than himself while building it ).

Now being a true Yorkshire man and not liking to waste any thing I salvaged the head off the Wraith body and used the rest of the Destroyer Lord kit to make a Destroyer Lord with Resurrection Orb & Staff of Light. He is pictured with two of my Destroyers as he did like to sit with them in the back field to let them keep on getting back up.

And lastly the group shot which if you click will give you a larger picture if you desire a closer look.

Now I expect most of these models won't get that much use in the new codex as all the new models don't have the green plastic rods, which I have to admit I am going to miss. The plastic wasn't great with bubbles and very obvious join lines on the large crystals but it gave a nice contract to the metallic scheme.

Until next time may you enjoy the blessings of life Papa Nurgle grants you before the cold unfeeling wrath of the Necrons cleanse this universe of all organic life.

O'Shashar

Justicar Finari - WIP

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Who are you calling short!?

Good day my friends of the decaying one. First of all a big apology for being off the radar. As O'Shashar has mentioned I have had a busy 4 weeks. I was on holiday for 10 days and I have been distracted with the new Space Marine game and the release of Gears of War 3. What can I say I have a weakness for visceral gore!

OK, as you may have heard from my esteemed colleague we are starting up Warhammer Quest with some friends. The last time I played this game was about 12 years ago when I was back in school at a local gaming club. I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Now I will be needing a miniature to take play in this Quest, which we are starting tomorrow. I decided to go for the stout dwarf for my character and I just finished him last night. I picked up Avatars of War Dwarf Lord on Ebay to represent my character (and to use in my future Dwarf army as a Lord). I have to say he turned out rather well for my first Dwarf.

The model itself was full of detail and I was extremely happy with the casting. It only cost £9.40 including postage and packaging, which admittedly isn't the cheapest, but they are very nice models. You can see there range here.

After some deliberation I decided to name my Dwarf Lord Hrothgal Thundergut. I was going to have Lohrek Foesmasher, but I think that suit a Slayer more. Now that Hrothgal is done and If I can manage to drag myself away from Gears of War 3 I will start painting another 5 Gobbo's that I have undercoated.

There should be another update from Dorn's Arrow about his Skaven army and a very nice Warrior priest soon. However O'Shashar is spoilt for choice on what to offer up for our loyal followers. Until next time my pestilent friends.

Tale of Three Fantasy Gamers Monthly Round Up - September

 

Good evening children and welcome to the first monthly round up of our Tale of Three Fantasy Gamers challenge between Mighty Simo with his rampaging Orc & Goblin horde, Dorn's Arrow and his nightmarish Skaven and myself with my eternal servants of the Tomb Kings.

So far all three of us have managed to create our 1000 point lists which can be found at the links below

Dorn's Arrow's Skaven
Mighty Simo's Orc & Goblin
O'Shashar's Tomb Kings

Looking over the progress made it has been impressive for me to see how quick the other two have jumped into painting their respective armies.

Ork Boyz will even go into the past for a good scrap

Firstly we have the Orc & Goblin horde which is a clan of his own design called "Da Red Skullz", which so far is comprised of ten funky looking Night Goblins, five fantasy Orcs and the five converted Assault on Black Reach Orks shown above. Now he is back from his get away in Cleethorpes ( taking in all the sights of the local pubs & takeaways ) I expect he will ramp it up again.

Rat Ogres still look like Mickey Mouse on steroids to me

Next up we have the Skaven and I am please to tell you that Dorn's Arrow has not been slacking either. He has managed to paint up a lovely looking Rat Ogre and thirty five Clan Rats, which are a mix of hand weapons and the spear wielding varieties. This also includes a rather nice standard bearer to join his full command spear block. Rumours from Mighty Simo suggest he has been busy since his last post and has finished off more painted vermin to offer up to Papa Nurgle in the near future.

Hopefully the shopped cuteness will temper your anger towards me

While I am sure you have guessed it by the tiny cat in place of skeletons, I don't have any painted Tomb Kings to show you. I did paint up a test model using the paints I picked up especially for this project and I have to say that the bone itself came out just how I wanted it to. Unfortunately that was where my luck ran out. The green I used was too green, the red/brown was too brown and the gold was a bit too pristine for my tastes. So as usual this means I am having colour scheme issues, I should have worked out the scheme before starting the challenge but I was confident in my choices ( I always am at the start and should have foreseen this as it isn't the first time ).

So I have picked up a few different colours and had planned to retry my test model before I wrote this post ( it is sat on my desk at this very moment). However changes in my work life have meant I now have a much more time intensive job which while I am enjoying it has encroached on my limited hobby time.

If that wasn't excuse enough ( I am just full of reasons not to paint ) I keep hearing whispers about Warhammer Quest being ran in the next couple of weeks. This was the inspiration for stripping my Justicar Finari model that was in my last post. She has had my attention this Sunday as I had an afternoon to myself. I have managed to sort the base and make a start on her, all being well I will have a post about her up this week if I finish in time.

So at the end of the first month the standings are as follows:
  
Dorn's Arrow has completed thirty six models out of a hundred and eight
Mighty Simo has completed twenty models out of ninety two
O'Shashar has completed zero models out of fifty seven

Now I know this is painting me in a very bad light and I will be the first to admit it does. My only saving grace is I now have the majority of the models I will need in my possession along with my Tomb Prince stripped back to metal so all being well this month will be more productive on the Tomb King front. Though I have got my copy of Dread Fleet begging me to open it at the minute and if Warhammer quest does take off again I might dust off my Fiametta I picked up to use as a wizard last time round.

Until next time may you spread his blessings to every corner of your world.

O'Shashar

Which is Your Stripper of Choice?

Good evening followers of Papa Nurgle and thank you for joining me once again in our little corner of disease and rot. Recently I have found myself in possession of a few models which are in good condition but I would much rather paint them myself to tie in with their friends.

Now normally I have been using original Dettol as my weapon of choice with it doing me proud in the past, and Simple Green which seems so popular across the pond is not widely available here in the UK. However while on my trip out to pick up a bottle ( never a dull moment ) I remembered an article written by Karitas over on Excommunicate Tratoris ( which if you haven't paid a visit to I highly recommend you do ).

The article was about a couple of plastic dreadnoughts he had stripped back to the primer using Fairy Power Spray ( a kitchen degreaser ) and how it was quick, effective and more importantly didn't make the paint transform into sticky ooze.
So to give it a try with as little risk as possible I threw in a metal model. Originally it was going to be my Tomb King model I will use represent my Tomb Prince but decided on my reaper Finari model I picked up last year for a spot of Warhammer Quest which died out quickly when our DM got bored, though hopefully in the next few weeks a new DM is planning to take up the challenge.

She hasn't turned out bad for a test subject

This model was originally primed and painted but not sealed with any kind of varnish. Within an hour I could see spots of bare metal though I gave it 24 hours time in a jar and started clean up by running it under the tap. Surprisingly this took care of the paint which was exposed and only required minimum work to clean out the nooks and crannies. Within a few minutes I had her back to a cleaner standard than I have achieved with Dettol and wasn't covered in ooze or had any nasty reactions.
 
On a serious note I did strip a large biscuit tins worth of marines two years ago using neat Dettol without wearing gloves and for six weeks after my hands peeled every time they got wet . This was not a pleasant experience and did cause them to be uncomfortable for this time, so please make sure you always take precautions when working with any type of chemical, even ones you have used for years as a cleaner and think are harmless.  

Overall I am happy with the ease in which I was able to get these results and I have since throw in a couple of heavy painted models which seemed to be stripping nicely with a little stir now and then.

So my question to you is "Which is your stripper of choice and why?"

O'Shashar

Hello, I'mmmmmm back! (Re-cap of my last two weeks).

Salutations fellow plague spawn of Papa Nurgle. I apologise for the lack of posts from myself the last 2 weeks. As I last said I was away on holiday for 9 days. Now obviously I haven't done much on my Orc and Goblin horde for my tale of three gamers. Being away was one reason and the second was getting hold of the awesome game Space Marine, which has taken up all my time. I should get back to painting the Orcs soon as they are giving me nasty looks shouting "C'mon 'umie we darez ya to paint uz!"


Anyway, as I have mentioned one reason why I do not have a further update on my Orc and Goblin horde is that I have just completed Space Marine. I am thoroughly pleased I pre-ordered it as it is a really good game, but the ending unfortunately is a complete anti climax. Again if you haven't seen my review of the demo then I would suggest having a read if you are in two minds. I will add to my review that the full game itself is fantastic, their are all sorts of fluff and actual models making their way into the game. The Cities of Death terrain, Cadian Imperial guards Ork and Space Marine models. There is even Forgeworld's Nurgle Blight Drone. The weapons feel and sound like they should do. Your armoury is quite impressive, it would make any Space Marine Master of the Armoury jealous! I am tempted to make a full review including multiplayer.



Now onto GW's latest news today. I don't like jumping on the band wagon, but I don't see many blogs out their mentioning this so I thought I would give it a plug. I would be surprised if none of you have heard the rumours flying around the web already, but I am sure many of you have seen and heard hints to what GW was going to announce today. For those that have been in stasis it is a new one time board game that has been released. Now I haven't been around long enough (correct me is I'm wrong), but this appears to be a re-make of Man O' War. The game is for two or more players and it is a fight of good against evil. As well as fighting each other the box seems to come with terrain and sea monsters to avoid. It appears you get plenty of models in the set and it does look really nice (It should do for £70!). I am weighing up on weather to order it with it being a one time release (I know Dorn's Arrow has already ordered his). It seems it is only available direct from GW. I picked mine up from the FLGS so doesn't look like it is GW only - O'Shashar


As promised as you can see above are the 5 Orcs I didn't show on my previous post. Some of you may recognise them as the Orks from Assault on Black Reach. I have basically put them on square bases. I have also done a few head swaps and used some of the spare accessories in the Orc Boyz box to help them fit in with the proper Orc Boyz. I also clipped off the Sluggas and used green stuff to tidy the area up. Some of you may realise that they are not in rank and file this because of how the models have their weapon arms, they stick out too much. I am going to work the rest of the Orc Boyz around these.

Unfortunately that is all I have for you today our faithful followers. Until next time may the Plague Father bless you in all that you do.

Where Do You Get Your Gaming Fix? Or How I Found My First Visit to a Gaming Club.

Good evening children of the Plague Father and welcome once again to our corner of the garden. Today I would like to take a break from the Tale of Three Gamers to talk about where you get your gaming fix. I wanted to post this up sooner but had a long weekend planned with my wife and wouldn't appreciate using time off together to blog so you lucky Nurglings get it tonight.

Until last week I had only played my games of 40k ( along with a sprinkle of Blood Bowl & Necromunda ) at the homes of friends. After seeing a post on the work boards asking any war gamers to try out the local club  we thought why not?. Plans were made to go down for when it opened at six which gave us a five hour limit on the game, which was more than enough for a 1750 each game.

Now aside from my trip to Maelstrom earlier in the year this is the first time I have attended a gaming club and to be honest I'm not sure it is for me. Don't get me wrong it had some good points and bad but over all I found it less enjoyable than our usual set up.

So in the interest of fairness firstly I will start with the good points;

Terrain - The terrain selection available while not the best selection was very good considering there was terrain for different game systems and scale. Along with it being a good mix of home made and bought terrain it was all painted ( with simple schemes but was still all painted ). The only downside I saw with this was a lot of the terrain had a very small foot print on the table. This made me feel a bit guilty taking enough to make a decent tables worth of terrain.

Game Systems -  Looking around the room it was nice to see people playing a fairly wide selection of games including 40k, Fantasy, Mordheim, Flames of War and a funky looking game which seemed to be based on aerial dog fights called Wings of War.

Variety of Opponents - This is the most interesting part of a gaming club to me as I currently game with around 8 different players depending who is available to squeeze a game in with which does give me a variety of armies to face, with most having at least two armies to use.

Not always the best role model for personal hygiene in a confined space

Now on to the bad points;

Organisation - Lets face it when I think of a club that is on a set day between a set time in a set place I don't think it is unreasonable to expect to turn up and be able to get inside the building and not have to wait nearly 15 minutes for someone to unlock the door. Once inside we were told to just get a board and set up a table any where we liked as people get them out as needed rather than set them all up, which seemed fair to me.

With the lay out of the room we went on the end leaving more than enough room between us and the next table for another 4' x 6' board if needed. We did this more for the location of where we could put the board rather than not wanting to be right next to other players and to leave room for people to get in an out without going to the end of the row.
However about 30 minutes in to our game the club captain asked us to move our whole board down so that there wasn't a gap and another board could be put where ours was. I suggested that rather than move a game in progress he could just put another board in the gap which I didn't think was unreasonable, sadly this was not to be and it was insisted that they knew best. I still have not decided if this really was just a failure to grasp that just putting a board in the gap was easier or trying to show who was top dog.

Venue - The club is running out of the function room of a working men's club which had no natural light or windows that could be opened, no air conditioning and two doors to go through to the outside which were required to be kept shut so no air flow there. Sadly this made the room very hot and gave a nice mix of sweat and the lovely aroma of a pub carpet that has seen its prime which smoking indoors used to cover up.

Members - Now this was my first time there so I was bound to be an outsider there and this I was fine with though had a couple of gents come over and have a chat with most of them seeming fine if not a little shy. Though there was two that stuck out to me who realistically were making everyone else look bad.

First up was a lad I would say was in his twenties giving it the big talk about how he had been barred at a pub for telling the barmaid to get her tits out and make him a sandwich. Now I am happy to believe this might be true but really isn't something to be proud of and just reminds me of school boys bragging about their conquests while if they had a real woman wouldn't know what to do with her.

Secondly was an older gent ( 40ish or a hard paper round ) who was trying to teach someone the finer points of fantasy, an admirable task I am sure you all agree. The trouble was on more than one occasion over the noise of the room ( loud enough to make me have to shout over the table what I was rolling for ) I heard him bellowing how he was doing it wrong.

40k Armies Present - This is something I was looking forward as I hoped to see most armies represented so while waited I had a word with one of the lads who informed me that most people were playing Space Wolves & Imperial Guard with a few on Blood Angels, Grey Knights and Dark Eldar picking up support quickly and one person on the older armies if I was lucky. Now this was a bit of a disappointment but I tried to cover it up with a joke about them chasing the new armies which got the young lad very defensive saying how they needed to change book "to stay competitive".

I do love dusting off my Necrons, this guy isn't one of mine though.

Unfortunately this was the final nail in the coffin for me as while I do like to win when the chance shows itself I wouldn't sacrifice my T'au for a brand new army and think I will go back to games at mine or friends houses.

Overall it had some good points but I was a little underwhelmed with the whole experience and think I will give it a miss unless times become desperate enough to give it another go with my collection of 4th edition armies.

Now the question I want to put to you people out in the warp is a simple one "Where do you get your gaming fix?" and to a lesser extent is this your first choice or a necessary evil to play the games you love?

O'Shashar