More Than Just Playing With Soldiers

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While games of Warhammer and 40k are great any hobbyist will tell you that the  actual games are just a small part of our pastime. Engaging in the collecting and painting of your little guys is a much bigger part of the war gaming hobby than actually playing the game. Some folks see this preparatory work as a bit of a downer; just let me at those filthy skaven, they rage. However for the majority of war gamers collecting and painting the miniatures is even more fun than the battles themselves.

Not content with collecting, painting and fighting with their little guys some hobbyists also feel the need to share there adventures with fellow gamers. Once-upon-a-time the only  way to share your armies with others was over the battle table or at club nights. Now-a-days for those with the desire or need to share, show off or simply enjoy the company of fellow hobbyists there are blogs and there is Twitter. All of a sudden a whole new aspect of the hobby opens up!

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For  me and for many others I am sure that is the beauty of this hobby; the depth of involvement it offers and often demands. This is one of those hobbies that the more you put in the more you get out. It matters not to me that perhaps this article will be read by only one or two people, if I am lucky, what matters is that I have fun preparing and presenting this missive. So not only do I have the fun of playing with my toy soldiers but I get to play with lights and cameras and get to set up nice scenes with my little guys as if it really matters. It is all harmless fun anyway.

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Published in: on April 16, 2015 at 10:11 am  Leave a Comment  
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Puss ‘n’ Rot

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Long, long ago deep in the mists of time, in that period of shoulder pads and Texan soap operas called the eighties, I first encountered Chaos. I was instantly drawn to the decadent, erotic charms of Slaanesh and to that god I gladly sold my soul. However chaos is chaos, it broils and churns and we mere mortals are swept hither and thither and tide tossed upon many an alien shore. Bitterly too those chaos gods fight to win followers one from another and many a soul is torn asunder in the ensuing tug-of-war. Wise is the mortal who pins not his arms to the coat tails of any great patron but, humbly and devoutly, follows them all.

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Ok so after years of collecting only Slaanesh I have broadened my Daemonic horizons. GW are busy producing many, many mouth-watering models at the moment but, of the recent batch, the Plaguebearers of Nurgle most captured my imagination. I suppose being and orc at heart these models would be bound to appeal to me. There is almost a snotling/orc relationship between the plaguebearers and nurglings.IMG_0007

As can be said of most of the new plastic models they went together very well and were wonderfully detailed. I don’t know if it is just me but I seem to be having a bit of an issue with the plastic glue; ie. It will not stick??? Super glue seems to work though; fingers crossed (damn now they are stuck together). (Note: this article was first published a while ago and since then the problem with the plastic glue appears to have been resolved.)

So here is the first unit of my reimagined Daemon Hoard I have a feeling it might be a little Nurgle heavy, with plenty of Daemonetts too (mmmmmm).

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Published in: on April 14, 2015 at 10:58 am  Leave a Comment  
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Thunder in the Valley

Unseasonal thunder in the valley, a portent of things to come, can mean only one of two things. Firstly it could mean the giants have been on the beans again, in which case an upwind location is to be preferred, or the dwarves are on the ranges performing target practice. It looks like the latter to me.
Ok so someone has got their back up. What did they do? Did they use the “D” word in a diminutive way? Did the dwarves buy some dodgy pies from Volendorf? Or, more than likely, some bleeding goblin beat them at conkers. Whatever the reason, and let’s face it dwarves don’t need much of an excuse, the dwarves are going to war.
Markham took his Sure-Shots out for a bit practice and the even the stoic dwarves managed a grin at the prospect of a weedy elf on the receiving end of one of their slugs. Markham’s Sure-Shots are ready they just can’t wait for the rest of the lads to turn up.

“Gold, gold, gold, gold,
Gold, gold, gold, gold!”

Published in: on November 27, 2011 at 8:25 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Ten year Tau

Well despite the rather long break from this blog we have not been idle on the Warhammer front; far from it. Since my last post, all the way back in May, there has been painting a plenty. Over the next few weeks I’ll try and get you caught up with all that has been happening along with what we are currently up to. That means you have the coming of age of a Tomb Kings Army and a High Elf Army to look forward to.
Apart from everything else we have also launched ourselves into 40k. Today’s painting effort saw the completion of a Tau Hammerhead and that very rare bird a Tau Devilfish. I know you cannot get your hands on a Devilfish anymore but then these tanks, and indeed the whole Tau Army have been waiting to get painted for a while. They have been waiting quite a while; ten years in fact. Not a record wait by any means but still…
Please forgive the low resolution on the photos but I ran out of batteries for my camera, I’ll have to get some on Friday. Here we go then, after ten years of waiting (where does the time go?) the Tau Tanks.

Published in: on November 23, 2011 at 4:05 pm  Leave a Comment  
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The Orcs & Goblins Fun Edition

I should have known better, after all these years I should have known better. Was I seduced by the enormity of the Arachnarok Spider?  Was I deluded by the hype regarding Orc tribes? Was I enamoured by the Nasty Sulkers? Was I washed away on the tide of euphoria surrounding a new Orc and Goblin Army Book. You bet I was! Was I once again suckered by the omnipotent GW? You bet I was.

I suppose it is because the Orcs and Goblins are so dear to my heart that I believe it is impossible for GW to produce an army book worthy of them. However putting my own personal prejudice to one side this book is still a bitter disappointment.

As a book lover the new format for the books themselves is delightful. It feels nice, it smells nice and it handles nicely. It is everything a book should be. However it is supposed to be a gaming manual and as such it is bulky, cumbersome and heavy. The claims that it was full of all new artwork were of course an exaggeration. There is plenty of small new art but also a rehash of a lot of popular old stuff including the cover of the last book!

As for the rules content well… This book perfectly fits the ethos of the new Warhammer. Its emphasis is upon fun rather than competitive supremacy. Personally I think that is great. Yes I believe that Warhammer should be fun before anything else. However, the Orcs and Goblins are the only ones playing to these rules at the moment. In particular the new, more complicated, animosity rules heavily penalise a catastrophic failure with two units taking casualties and losing a whole turn’s  activity. Yeah that is loads of fun guys, not!

Now we come to the big jaw dropper;  the cheapest magic item is worth 50 pts.  But that is ok because there is only eight magic items in total.  Two magic weapons, one magic armour, one arcane item, three banners and an enchanted item. There you go; good luck kitting out your own orc hero with that lot. Sure there is loads of generic stuff but where is the excitement in that?

Sorry this army book gets a big thumbs down from me. Your best bet is not to buy this book until they have levelled the field a little by nobbling a few other armies with their new “fun” rules.

Published in: on May 3, 2011 at 11:19 am  Leave a Comment  
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The Rocky Spider Picture Show.

Well what can I say? It is a big spider full of goblins of course I wanted one. Ok so I opted for the easy paint job but I still think it looks pretty cool for me.

And Yes I took it up against the Sword Master of Hoeth ; they did four wounds Rocky did four, the goblins none, as you would expect, and thunder stomp did three. Net result Rocky won by two. As it was me rolling the break test the elves were gone.

Losing four wounds in one round of combat was a bit of an eye opener  even if it was to S5 elites. However rocky had the staying power and he won!

Published in: on April 27, 2011 at 10:16 am  Leave a Comment  
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White Dwarf 375

WAAAAAGH! Yes this white dwarf is just chock full of Da Boyz! Ok so yeah as a hardened
orc player it is exciting to get all these models and especially that fantastic spider but… Oh my there is a new army book to buy, new ors and gobos to buy and yet another change to the animosity rules! So yes it is really cool to get new stuff for your favourite army but come on guys give me a break, I have a High Elf Army I want to buld!
It is not all Orcs and goblins. There is a very sexy Dark Eldar Succubus and other juicy bits. I think I am going to have to get some of those wytches! There is yet more 40k with the Blood Angels and Armageddon.
This issue also features two campaigns; one for LOTR and the other for Warhammer. It is nice to see some extra rules and gaming bits in the Dwarf, they do not do that often enough for me.

Published in: on March 2, 2011 at 11:09 am  Leave a Comment  
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Billy Bedlam


Just in case you all think I am a bit slow when it comes to the old painting… meet Billy Bedlam.
Billy is my third giant but I really believe that you simply cannot have enough giants. I have to admit that when I first saw this model I was not impressed. Over time, as I noticed more of the detail, it grew on me until I just had to have one. A couple of weeks ago I was feeling a little depressed and buying the giant was just the retail therapy I needed.
In less than a week Billy was assembled, painted and ready to go. I was not disappointed in him at all; there is so much about this giant that just makes you smile. Last Sunday he took part in his first battle, probably the last battle under the old rules for my Orcs and goblins. The boy done good! He disposed of a unit of ten Chaos Warriors all on his own and was still standing at the end of the battle.
I was pleased to see, in the latest White Dwarf, that an Arachnarok Spider and a Giant will both fit into a 2000pt. army, just.

Published in: on March 1, 2011 at 10:26 am  Leave a Comment  
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Kurt Steiff

Of course if you are going to paint a Chapel you need a Priest for it. Well in Warhammer what could be more appropriate than a Warrior Priest of Sigmar? Not only does it fit in well with the story but he also adds great depth to the overall plot surrounding Volendorf.

As for the model, just in case you are wondering; well he is the warrior priest from Warhammer Quest. What that means is that it took me more than thirteen years to paint it! Even then it was finished off last week by Nita. It is a cool model and I started off with a great burst of effort but then I got struck trying to figure out what colour to paint the cloak. So the model got put to one side and, as so often happens, eventually put in a cupboard and forgotten.

It has to be said that thirteen years is not that bad, I have got some guys that have been waiting a lot longer than thirteen years to be painted.

Published in: on March 1, 2011 at 10:02 am  Leave a Comment  
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Volendorf

Well that has got my record of Volendorf started at last. As an idea it has been hanging round for ages, just like this blog really. So at last I have made at start on both of them. Of course the physical work on Volendorf has been going on for a while but the record of our progress well…

So what is the Volendorf project? Well I suppose it started with the Skaven in the Island of Blood box set, it took shape while I was working on our new Realm of Battle table and so here we are. It is the tale of the Baronial Estate of Volendorf. The Story and the armies are driven by the scenery we create.

Hence: The Chapel has led to the painting of Kurt Steiff and the purchase of The Congregation (an Empire Free Company). The Wood has led to further work on our Beastman army. When The Congregation is all painted up we have a nice scenario waiting them and the Beastmen. Watch this space.

Published in: on February 18, 2011 at 10:50 am  Leave a Comment  
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