WAAAGH!

Hey bloggers,

No that isn't a reference to our favourite greenskins heading off to conquer a new galaxy, it's the noise I'm currently making with all that's been going on lately! I went to put a post up the other day but blogger was down so apologies for that missed post but wow what a week its been.

On the home front I've been tidying/organising my hobby lair/study which has made my girlfriend somewhat happier. I don't have any images for you yet as it's still a work in progress but after quite a few trips to IKEA I have pretty much all the shelving I could need (well fit into the room to be precise). Once I have the desk cleared I will have to start looking for some paint storage/display options. Does anyone have a system they like or can recommend? I don't want them in a case as I think that will be harder whilst I'm in the middle of a painting frenzy to stop and swap colours, esp with the addition of non Gw paints with which I'm not fully used to yet. Please comment away!

I actually put some paint to model the Friday before last! I'll tell you it's been a while but man was it good to get back on that bike, shaky as I was. As such I worked on painting up my Tandarians as there are plenty of guardsmen who need some love but don't require the level I will put into my marines or other more elite armies, well elite compared to guard infantry.

We have Forgeworld Chaos Dwarfs coming our way and damn do they look nice. Some really great ideas and models there. I love the inscriptions on the inside of their shoulder pads and the totem on top of their standard bearer. New Dark Eldar were released but without the uber fliers we were expecting. That's cool, just another nice mini to await release. Damn it's looking more and more like I'll need to collect Dark Eldar. That's something I might do when I'm sent North for six months at the end of the year and beginning of next (don't worry, it's for work not an exile imposed by my missus). Since I will be away from all my hobby mates and hobby supplies and minis I figured I might start a totally new army which I don't need anything else for. So pretty much nothing Imperial really, or in power armour. Not that I'm not looking for some new Northern Hobby mates when that time comes!

Maelstrom Games has their new sales restraints imposed in a few short weeks which I will be away for whilst it happens. Not that I won't still support them through their other systems but after losing Flames of War and Gw it's really limiting what I can get from them.

Finally Finecast has come. This will be a talking point for sometime I'm sure especially since the speed between the announcement of such a major change in such a casual manner hasn't given everyone enough time to digest how this will affect things. Most people are probably just looking at what they buy as now being resin rather than metal. sure it'll be lighter and easier to cut but will it be brittle? If I drop my Wood Elf Dragon is it more likely to shatter or to loose the tips of its horns than the metal one? How are Gw staff going to teach Timmy Ten-year-old hold to build his new character when he hasn't built any himself? Is it safe to? So can we work on Forgeworld and other resin pieces in-store now? Do we all need to wear dust masks when in store working on our new models?

I'm sure you can see some of the implications of these sorts of questions and the big shift in how the stores are currently run to allow for this new material. And if it is a wonder hybrid of plastic and resin how do we work with it? Glue it? Will it melt whilst filing? Will it jump down our lungs and murder us as soon as look at it? (I'm sure it won't but that's how some stores treated Forgeworld when it was starting to appear at their hobby tables) And I'm sure for many others this won't spell the end of metal models. I have a back log of Gw metal models like you wouldn't believe, not just a whole host of characters and elite units but Vostroyans, Steel Legion, Praetorians and Sisters of Battle. Then there are the other companies that make pretty toys which I collect, more casually sure but there isn't a model made for Incursion that I won't buy at least twice (and have already done so or plan to do)!

Alot of stuff going on and still mulling over what has just happened, but the first thing I'll be doing is thinking if there is anything I need from Maelstrom.

Charities and layout

Hey bloggers,

I've been out at a RAAF base today re-qualifying for the Austeyr and have had a pretty good day. I just wanted to bring your attention to some of the changes to the blog's layout. I'm still tinkering away with it and any feedback is more than welcome, just leave it in the comments. But I ask that you check out two charity projects LiveStrong Wargaming Project run through Miniature Wargame Conversions who are also running Pay it Forward where there is a Forgeworld Mars Pattern Warhound Titan to be won!

This is the same LiveStrong endorsed by Lance Armstrong and looks at helping those affected by cancer. One of the great things about this project is that anyone can get involved! Big or small, everything helps and it's simple to get involved. Just sell any unwanted hobby or make a special piece and sell it through eBay's Giving Works with the proceeds of those sales going to LiveStrong. There's already the first piece going up on eBay over at Red Corps Red Scorpions page. Check out the links and you'll quickly get how it works and how this can be really easy to join in. Heck just bid on and buy an item and you're helping out!

And The Heroes of Armageddon Collaborative Army Build brought to you by the guys who were responsible for the Storm Wardens Collaborative Army Build. The Storm Warden Army Project produced an amazing looking army with a whole host of customised accessories and giveaways along the way including the art for the project. It had an amazing level of support from some of our favourite online hobby stores and raised an astounding $16,107 for Doctors without Borders. This time is no different except that they have four armies underway for the project! The earlier you get involved the more draws and chances to win you have. Definitely something to keep an eye on with that much hobby happening, especially considering the number and type of accessories. They had stuff I didn't even know I wanted until I saw it! They already have custom dice made up.

These charity projects show just how amazing our community can be and by giving you end up with awesome hobby. Check out those links and have a think if you've got something to give or if there's a model or army out there that you want.

Black Crusade

Hi bloggers,

Just a quick one here, I don't know if you had all seen this already but it was news to me when I found it and a pleasant surprise at that! Fantasy Flight Games is releasing the fourth of their 40k roleplay games Black Crusade.

As you can probably guess from it's name it's all about taking on the role of the minions of chaos with images showing corrupted guardswomen, an assassin about to take out some Sisters of Battle with a melta-bomb, a corrupted priest and a dark mechanicum techpriest.

This looks to be really kick arse and will probably fill that niche our gaming group has of killing everything that breathes whilst sending ourselves insane and corrupt.

TROLL!

Hi bloggers,

I don't know how many of you have seen Troll Hunter yet but it is an awesome movie set in modern day Norway about a group of film makers following around an old bear poacher when they discover something more....

It goes back to the origins of trolls and they look and feel authentic. They are legitimate Norwegian Trolls and look just like those books everyone grew up with such as Brian Froud and Wil Huygen's works. I can't recommend seeing this movie enough! Now that I am on the look out for all things troll I have just come across some amazing troll miniatures over at Warploque Miniatures. These guys hark back to those Norwegian style trolls, nothing chaotic or warped about them just honest to goodness trolls. I really think I will need to pick up a set.

He also has a dragon he is trying to get cast up over here with two different head variants and has just finished up a Death Kiwi. Definitely someone to keep an eye on.

Has anyone gotten any models from Warploque? Thoughts?

Incursion on a Saturday Afternoon

Hi bloggers,

So Saturday Max came over and we had another game of Incursion. We played the third mission and I decided to take an APE Blazer for the first time to try them out (a flame-thrower). Now unlike Space Hulk he's not limited in his fuel, this bad boy came to fight. With enough Action Points (AP) and Command Points (CP) you fill the board around you with flames and help to halt the advance of zombies.

So for those of you unfamiliar with Incursion it works quite similarly to Space Hulk. Each action a model takes costs a certain number of points; moving forward is 1 AP, throwing a grenade is 2 AP and so on.

Each model has an AP value determining how many actions they can take normally, now this can be altered by the cards you draw each turn or added to by CP. CP is a pool of points, determined by how large the mission is, which you can allocate to your models to take them far beyond what they can normally do. At the beginning of a turn you can secretly bid your CP to allow you to take your turn first but obviously this leaves you without them during that turn win or lose. CP can additionally be used to "kill" cards that are played either as events or on characters (both yours and your opponents).

Everything started off fine with the flamer effectively shutting down Max's ability to bring on zombies as they would be melted down into Tyler Durden's favourite source material as soon as they stepped into the flames. But since my APEs are so slow compared to Ilsa and the Blitzhund they were able to get moving away from the flamer. Since you can control the shape of the flame within line of sight you can ensure you are able to block off a room's entrances.

The Blazer slowly advancing forward managed to take down the Blitzhund (who had been shot previously by the APE by himself) and wound Ilsa. Unfortunately for me Max had a hidden tunnel card and set one up right behind me and ran zombies at all my APE suits managing to take a wound off the APE supporting the Blazer. I then beat them back in my next turn expending my CP to ensure I would be safe during his turn only to have a Booby Trap card played against the same APE and with Max only rolling sixes whenever he tried to wound me he pulled down my APE suit.

After Ilsa grabbing the Pinger (the Mission's objective is to get it off the board) more zombies raced towards the isolated APE from the Trap Door and without the fire support from the now extinct APE they managed to pull him down under the weight of their attacks. So down to just the Blazer I had to knock out the Trap Door and focus on pulling down the much more nimble and deadly Ilsa.

After doing so with a possible victory in my grasp Max played a brilliant series of cards meaning I just couldn't bring Ilsa down before she could win the game for Max. As a Cave In occurred blocking the Blazer's line of sight Ilsa also had Blaze of Glory played on her meaning if I or the flames I had lit were to kill her she would instantly activate and have a full turn of AP to spend on her before she died meaning she could sprint off the board no matter what happened.

After bidding everything I had to take first turn I killed her Blaze of Glory with a SNAFU but Max drew and was able to play it again thanks to Ilsa's ability to draw an extra card every turn. This was the final nail in my coffin as Ilsa was able to stroll off the table to victory.

 Max's final hand of cards.

With Ilsa stacked with 3 wound counters a Blaze of Glory ensured her victory unless I could strip it before her death. Alas it was not to be.

Again this was another great game and just cemented with Max and I how good this game is. I will have to get a start on assembling my models once the expansion SNAFU gets here with all of its other goodies!

Around the World in 91 Blogs

Hey guys,

I've found another link to my Fenrisian Wolf Blogs. True Mini Wargamer has really taken the conversion up another level and I'm pretty keen to give this a try myself. They look really dynamic and are unmistakably wolfy. His greenstuff skills really make these models work even including the line around the mouth of the wolf, great stuff. Check out the final product on his blog.

Happy Easter Weekend and ANZAC Day

Heya bloggers,

So I don't know about you but I've had a pretty busy Easter Weekend. I hope yours has been a good one. With the ANZAC Day march this morning I wasn't able to get any hobby done today but for the past few days I have gotten a bit done. I will hopefully have my camera back in the next few days but until then I have been using my iPhone camera so I'm sorry about the poor quality of some of them.

On Friday I played Cliff in a game of Incursion. We played the second mission with Cliff playing the Allies APE suits and I took the Germans with Isla Von X once again playing a starring role and providing herself to be invaluable. My first blitzhound was taken out early moments after Isla blew apart two APE suits! it looked to be going my way but holding my second Blitzhound back too long and playing Isla too timidly as well as Cliff's great gaming meant it was a really close game but a victory to him in the end, just closing the last airlock and winning the mission.

Previous to this game Cliff had just finished played Little Max and after these two games decided he's getting Incursion for himself. So tonight the three of us ordered the new SNAFU Pre-order deal. I can't wait to get my hands on all the new minis as well as an expasion book double the size of the current rulebook. We're getting it from the Australian distributor at the same price as we would from the American store, so hopefully we'll save a bit on the shipping.

Speak to you soon!

Around the World in 90 Blogs

I just found this link to my blog. Wow! I didn't know I sounded so good in Spanish!

This is really awesome to find your stuff out there and definitely makes it all worthwhile, hopefully it gives people a few ideas or some inspiration. That and getting to share my hobby with mates and hopefully make a few more along the way definitely make this a lot of fun.

Cliff's Necrons

In other related hobby news my mate Cliff had his necrons featured on the Games Workshop Blog... Not too shabby mate!














I've always been quite impressed with his necrons and their non metallic colour scheme. One of his monoliths is all rigged up with programmable led's and a data port to do so. That's a bit beyond my abilities and patience but it's a pretty awesome army all round.

Incursion Order Arrives!

Hey guys,

Just a quick one here. Yesterday Cliff and I were working on magnetising our Valkyries so that not only did it have interchangeable weapon options but a removable roof (so I can paint the interior) and magnetised doors. We've got a few cool ideas but need to get a hold of some smaller magnets to continue.

So the other day I went down to the Post Office to pick up my Pre-Ordered copy of Incursion!! Well both copies of them :D

I got the resin doors and bases with them and Max has just ordered some as well so there's some creepy WWZ action headed our way soon. In other news they've just posted pictures of the greens of the new MI-13. I'm looking forward to these guys and will be keepoing a closer eye on the Incursion Blog.

After taking the photo it did seem to be a bit of a product shot but honestly that's my cutting mat!!

In other news Jason seems to be talking about my Armoured Sentinels we were discussing last Saturday and he gave me a hand to further tweak my list so I'm pretty happy with it!

Yet More New Blood Angels Sanguinary Guard!

Hey there Bloggers,

Well I made it into the City Store again today wrote up a 1750pt list for my Tandarian Imperial Guard army with some help from Jason and got to work on a few more Sanguinary Guard. I'll post up my 1750pt Guard list in the next few days as I'm sure this is of more importance to many of you!

So I've now gotten four Sanguinary Guard built!































The Banner Bearer under construction. When building this one the left arm actually uses a "standard" shoulder pad rather than the angelic one as otherwise the shoulder pad clashes with the wing. This one almost caused me some strife but I was able to fix it before it had dried.














He didn't turn out to bad I think. The banner itself has a great amount of detail and would work well with minor adjustments for Successor Chapters or Dark Angels.














This guy had a few of his pieces already chosen so I had to use some of the pieces already clipped and cleaned but I think it's a great model with a pretty rad pose.































I'm just wondering what I can use these guys for in the armies I'm working on as I'm sure I'll end up getting a box or two of them.

Ultramarine Scout Squad

Hi there fellow hobbyists!

Today Little Max and myself headed into the City Store to get some hobby done with around 4 other mates who usually hobby with us at Chatswood Gw. We all had a good time seeing guys we hadn't seen in a while and actually got a decent amount of hobby done (well for us anyway!). So the plan is to head into the city again on Thursday, Friday and Saturday as I'm currently doing some conversions for my next Scout Squad and my Terminators. I'll let you guys know a bit more about them once I've made some serious head-way on them as I only really planned them out and started their basing as well as build some heavy weapon marines for my tactical squads today.

Ok here are some picts of my Scouts which I mentioned a little while back which will form my first squad. I still need to a bit of green stuff work on these fellows to give them the Ultramarines symbol on their shoulder pad and to base them but otherwise these babies are done! (Other than some paint maybe)














This is my first Combat Squad in action ready to take on all comers and defend those objectives! Since this photo I have built I think another two Scouts in a similar fashion. Next is to crack out some of the Scouts from the Landspeeder Storm kit to further mix up those units and individualise my marines as well as the conversions I am working on.... As Scouts are a particular love of mine in terms of modelling and background I think I'm willing to sink a bit more time into them than normally. Also I can't seem to stop buying the little blighters, they are in a few of the Battleforce boxes and at only $35/40 a pop whenever I need a hobby fix or have forgotten my models I seem to walk home with a box or two of them and sometimes a scout biker sneaks in there as well.














So first off we have the kick arse Sergeant. As you can see I've done a bit of kit bashing on these guys with parts coming from both scout boxes as well as the scout biker box. The Sergeant also takes his powerfist from the Assault Marines box (of which I have a few for the running legs and previous squad) and it fits in quite well I think. No conversion is needed on it since the shoulder part which would normally supports the shoulder pad once smoothed makes for an excellent scout shoulder pad. His head is from the Scout Biker box but his vox rig didn't seem impressive enough so I replaced it with a brass rod.

My secondary (but really primary) reason and secret shame is I am always worried about these sorts of details being damaged it during gameplay and handling so I replace such parts with brass rods. The model also seems much weightier and sturdy (as absurd as that may sound). Hence why all of my Lord of the Rings models have brass spears.














If you notice carefully the rock he is leaning on is actually a piece of slate from the 40k Basing Kit as I cut out the rock the model was standing on to replace it with a more authentic version which would match those featured on the bases of my other marines. I can not tell you how much bullocking I have gotten over this from a few of my hobby friends pointing out yet again why I am such a slow hobbyist. That's true but to them I say "nuts". I really like how this model turned out and along with the Assault Marine Sergeant he's really a highlight model for me and I think this is how I want all my Sergeants to be, an anchor for the unit both in terms of game play and hobby.














Next are my two shotgun armed Scouts which have been kitted out for action behind enemy lines with the addition of a few cables and body traps. I really like the idea of these guys kicking down doors and clearing rooms in a cityscape and as such gave them some gear so they can do this sort of thing but didn't want to crowd the model with too many extras.

Finally are my two Scouts with bolt pistols and close combat weapons to round out the squad. The second Scout was to actually be a test model but after deciding I was going to give them a chapter symbol I stopped so I could green stuff it on later. Also he didn't get that extra bit of kit so I think I'll need to find something for him.

Although technically not part of this squad I couldn't leave out my heavy bolter Scout! As you can see he has had the same "rock replacement" as my Sergeant has as well as a few casings being ejected from the weapon. Although nervous about the "flying" shell casing I did trim two or three off and so far I haven't had any troubles with him in our travels. Obviously these are taken directly from the Ork Boys box and make the model that bit more dynamic.

Ok so hopefully over the next few days I'll bust out 5 or more converted Scouts and the beginnings of my Assault Terminator squad.

So any comments or thoughts?

2010: Time to Get Things Happening!

Hi there fellow bloggers and blog followers!

Firstly let me apologise for the extended break between posts. This was obviously not my intention and all the same old excuses get recycled and reused with LifeTM being the main perpetrator. The end of 2009 was crazy for me as it was with many of those in the limbo known as student life and retail work with a few other unexpected issues unfortunately my hobby and blog suffered. For the last almost 2.5 weeks I have been taking a bit of time out of it all in W.A. with my girlfriend and her family for a holiday. Whilst there I was cut off from civilisation in that there was no 3G coverage for my iPhone and so the internet was just a dream for me!

Now I'm back and rearing to go and looking forward to a great year of hobby progress. I'm taking a lighter year at uni with just some casual work in there to keep myself alive and away from the debt collectors and so hope to pump out a fair bit of hobby. Well a fair bit for me at least.

I'm currently not at home so I can't post you any new pictures yet but in the new few days I'll make sure to grab some photos I've tried to post a few times and just force them onto the web.

I need to figure out a visual display for my hobby progress, goals, achievements and future projects so if anyone has any ideas shout out or leave me a comment or link so I can get myself sorted.

Since I'm still on W.A. time I'm having trouble readjusting my sleeping patterns so I'm sure there will be a few extra posts and a fair bit more reading up of all those great blog posts I've missed from those that I follow and come across. Seem familiar?

Anyway to kick off 2010 here are 85 marines built by two of my friends whilst at our local Gw today. I couldn't resist getting a snap of this almost company of marines to show to you guys.

Teamwork: A Hobbyist's Best Friend!

Hey Guys and Girls,

Since I have been having troubles uploading images these past few days I haven't yet put up my scouts but in the mean time, what do you guys think of teamwork??














Little Max and I are embarking on a joint hobby project: to complete 1000pts of Space Marines and to play a game on the 1st of February.

He is working on his Imperial Fists and I am building my 4th Company Ultramarines and so far I have found myself to be much more motivated hobbying with him (rather than alone/in-store) and really wanting to complete my 1000pts. To most people I'm sure this seems like an easy task but neither Little Max nor I have completed an army to date, being more like magpies in our hobby than good little bower birds (they would play Ultramarines too!).

We both finish uni at the end of October and start jobs which I am sure will become very hectic during the holidays and then I am planning to go away during early January to relax from a very stressful and draining year. Which means we will have November and December in between work and family commitments and then just two weeks of January to finish up my army!! I still have to buy a Razorback and a few other assorted goodies (like Forgeworld items) as well as do the green-stuffing so all my marines have some lovely Ultramarine and Tactical raised icons on their shoulder pads.

The few times I have met up with him in the last few weeks of term we have gotten quite a lot of hobby done in the time available and had a few laughs together.
So my question is this: do you find yourself being more productive in matters of hobby when working with a friend as a team? Or do you like to hobby alone at your place where everything is in easy reach?

Let me know what you think in the new poll or by leaving comments!

Ultramarine 1000pt List Draft

Hey Guys,

Today Little Max and I did a bit of painting, he on his scouts and me on my tactical marine test mini. We were working out the green shoulder pad edging and how to pick out the other details. He did mention that the miniature in real life seems much lighter than it does in the photos so hopefully when I reshoot him once he's finished the colours will seem better. But I really like the combination of the green with the blue. It looks really cool.

So I had planned to put up some pictures of my Scouties but unfortunately the internet isn't allowing me to upload them but hopefully I can do it at uni in a few days. Little Max and I are building and painting our 1000pt Armies with a deadline of 1st of February. Since I am hopefully going away for half of January and Little Max also has some commitments this should be enough time for us to complete our armies. Since this is the case I plan to build and paint around 500pts extra but if this isn't completed then no big problem.















So in the mean time here is my 1000pt Army List for the Ultramarines.

135pts - Space Marine Chaplain in Terminator Armour and Melta Bombs

200pts - 5 man Terminator Assault Squad with Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields

75pts - 5 man Scout Squad: 3 Shotguns and 2 with Pistols and Close Combat Weapons

50pts - Land Speeder Storm

170pts - 10 man Tactical Squad

90pts - 5 man Tactical Squad

150pts - 5 man Devastator Squad with 4 Multi-meltas

40pts - Razorback

40pts - Razorback


So those of you astute enough will notice this list is only 950pts in total and leaves me with 50pts to play with. So any recommendations for what to do with those 50pts?

So far I'm toying with the ideas of:
Another terminator and 10pts on special and heavy weapons in the ten man tactical squad.
Power fist for the scout squad, power weapon for the tactical squad and special and heavy weapons.
An upgrade to 1 of the Razorback weapons and take the cheaper/free special and heavy weapons.

So any other ideas? Any jump out as the best idea?
Once the internet decides to work properly I'll put up my Scouts.

Edit:
Tweaking list as to comments

Ultramarine Assault Squad

Hey happy bloggers,
Awesome I made the Tuesday Top Ten listing at number 2!!
And just the week after little Max did so also! :D I sense a friendly competition coming on...

So as promised and as a reward here are some shots of my WiP Ultramarine Assault squad!

Firstly my Veteran Sergeant. He is of course my favourite and possibly one of my favourites in the entire army. His storm shield is taken from the Assault Terminators but with an assault marine arm chopped to fit and the lightning claw is taken from the MKII Veterans. The head is taken from the Ravenwing Sprue with the Dark Angels sword symbol filled in with green stuff.














It's a five man squad so far with the Veteran Sergeant equip with a lightning claw, storm shield and melta bombs and the unit contains one plasma pistol. I will fill them out eventually to a ten man squad and include a second plasma pistol. In my other squad (since I'm building a full company eventually) I will include two flamers and I'm not sure yet what to give my Veteran Sergeant...














My plasma pistol marine has obviously had an accident in the past and so his head is half replaced with bionics on his left side (as he's left handed!) and I have improved his armour up to a MK8 variant. Since there are no MK8's with jump pack straps I decided to make my own. I did this with some plastic card piping, chopped it into half and tapered the ends. I smoothed it down a little and all was good! I unfortunately forgot to take a photo before I under coated him so if anyone wants a tutorial let me know and I'll do another one and post him up!














All my marines are going to have their correct shoulder pad markings. The assault marines obviously have the assault and ultramarine shoulder pads. These work really well but I think they may be a bit small for the tactical squads so I think I will force myself to do a bit more green stuff practise and model up their symbols. Also it will be good practise for my Space Wolves and Salamanders. The Veteran Sergeant has the Plastic Veteran Ultramarine symbol from the Space Marine Commander and Space Marine Command Squad boxes and the right shoulder pad was attached to the lightning claw arm so I left it as was.














I have tried to make them all individual to some degree so have added grenades along their harness so it's in easy reach for them.














I tried to ensure all the assault marines were leaping from jutting rock to rock or sprinting into an assaulting position. I like how they seem to hover above their bases and some times they almost appear to be floating as your brain edits out their connection to the base when you see them in person.



























This last marine holds a special place in my heart. Not only do I like him as one of the "lefties" and his leaning/running pose but I accidentally spilt some plastic glue on his chest so I covered it up with grenades which save the model in my eyes. To be fair it probably wasn't all that bad but I can be a bit anal with my hobby and like things to be perfect and now I think he looks even better!!














Ok so next for the marines I guess are the scouts. They need some green stuff work but I'll show you where they are so far up to. They are looking pretty good so far though. Nice and characterful!

So what do you all think of them?